An Insane Old Man's Collection of Fairy Tales
by A Bowl of Salad
Summary: [Collab story] A collection of stories based on Fairy Tales made by different authors, and with cast members played by characters we all know and love.
1. That Old Man!

**Disclaimer: **We wishwe own Hunter X Hunter and the tales we will use later on.

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**INTRODUCTION**

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The clouds were clear and the sun was bright, as it usually was ten kilometers above the sky. Propellers were soon heard, and eventually they were the only sound that echoed in that slice of the sky. With the increasing volume of sound, a blimp gracefully appeared out of the clouds. It had a large red sign adorned with letters 'HxH', basically covering the balloon's façade.

It was the Chairman Netero's personal blimp.

Assistant-san and all of his adorable glory was walking across the carpeted floor with a tray of tea in his hand. It was interestingly as shiny as his head. Eventually, he reached the chairman's room and knocked. "Come in" The voice behind the door said and he balanced the tray with a hand and opened the door knob.

He looked around for a while and saw the chairman wasn't in his living room so he shifted his gaze to the adjacent room. For a moment there he blinked since the chairman was never in that room unless he forced him to. The room being the study and his office, of course.

Assistant-san carefully walked to the study somewhat with his guard up. For all he knew the chairman could be playing some sort of prank on him.

And to his surprise, upon arrival, the chairman was actually _working on_ some paper. He had a seriously intent aura to the point he was emitting some powerful nen. Assistant-san could really not believe his eyes. Chairman Netero was working on _paperwork_ on his own free will.

Assistant-san went to him and looked at what he was working on. It must have been something of great importance to the wo—

He read, blinked, absorbed, and re-read, and… read again. Assistant-san almost dropped the tray.

"C- Chairman!" He said and the man paused to look at him. "What are you writing?"

"Fanfiction." The old man shrugged and Assistant-san's already large eyes only widened.

"What? W-Why?"

"_Because _writing fanfiction is _fun_!" he said with a 'well, duh' intonation. "I don't get enough time off to write!" And grinned. "I always wanted to be an author!"

Assistant-san stared at him oddly, which frankly was not really odd since he did it all the time serving this person. But then again, maybe his incredulous gape was stronger than usual. Especially with the names he saw in the story…

"And the casts!" He said, finally putting the tray down somewhere safe. "Why do you use _those_ people'?"

Netero did not even bat an eyelid. "Because it's interesting!" And then let out that characteristic hoot of his.

**ORZ**

Assistant-san calculated he must have lost another 10 years in his lifespan.

**…**

Assistant-san eventually recovered and arranged the paperwork so that they could be organized somewhat and then asked the chairman to drink his tea since it was getting cold. Netero only laughed and said he'll be finishing his work soon.

To his surprise though, the chairman handed him the pieces of paper and grinned. "Post it."

"...yes?" he blinked. "Where?"

"I dunno—somewhere everyone can see! Hohohoho~" He said light-heartedly, as always, and proceeded playing with his beard. "What about on the internet?"

He gaped.

"And I'm old. You know old people and technology don't go well together." He said. "I'll be counting on you!"

"Eh? B-But wouldn't this cause some sort of trouble for us?!" He said, knowing precisely that that would eventually happen. "Can't you just keep it to yourself?"

"Of course not! That's boring." Netero said seriously. "Just post it using a penname or something." But then, some odd idea seemed to have appeared on his head. "Then again… post in with_ many_ pennames."

"Eh? Why?" Assistant-san paused and mentally counted how many times he said that these past few minutes. And

"Cuz' It's interesting." Netero shrugged and stood up to lean down to his level. "Just do it!"

Assistant-san shivered and stepped back, planning to do as he was told. But as he closed the door, the chairman added: "Make sure to think of _ingenious_ pennames, okay?"

Assistant-san had no idea what was going through his head, but he knew very well there was nothing else to do but type.

And he'd realize later… that he would actually have fun with this, too, as unexpectedly the Chairman had quite the imagination.

The Hunters the Chairman just happened to use as his cast would feel very much the opposite, though.

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**TBC**

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What did you think of the intro? The concept? Or anything?  
All sorts of feedback would be appreciated and much loved!


	2. The Princess and the Pea

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hunter x Hunter or 'The Princess and the Pea'.**

**Writer: Kyouno-aru**

**Fairy Tale: The Princess and the Pea**

**Genre/Rating: Romance, Fantasy / K+**

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oxoxo**  
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**The Silver-haired Princess and the Caramel-filled Chocolate**

_Sauegard_

Once upon a time, in the kingdom of Sauegard, there lived the royal family, the Zoldycks.

There were five Zoldyck children. Out of the five, four had black hair- the oldest, Illumi, the needle-wielder; the second, Milluki, the obese computer addict; the fourth, Alluka, the playful doll maker and the youngest, Kalluto, the graceful dancer.

The middle child, Killua, had sliver hair, making her the heiress of the throne; for in the land of Sauegard the first-born son was not necessarily made heir, rather, it was the first child born with silver hair. When the child turned 18, he or she would take over the throne. If, by the third conceived child no child had silver hair, the oldest child would take the throne.

Silver hair ran in the Zoldyck family, but only a select few were blessed with the trait. In this case, Killua was the one who had been given this gift, and so she was made heiress. But the 17-year-old tomboy did not wish to be heiress, for she had no intention to marry a random prince from one of the neighbouring lands. At first, she'd declared that she would never marry, but finally came to a compromise with her mother and father that she would marry, but only if she got to pick her spouse herself.

_-XoXoXoX-XoXoXoX-XoXoXoX__-XoXoXoX-XoXoXoX-XoXoXoX-_

_Tebel _

The Kingdom of Tebel was a neighbouring country to Sauegard. The situation in the Royal Family of Tebel was similar to that of the Royal Family of Sauegard- the heir needed a spouse.

Tebel was ruled by a single queen, Mito, and her son, Gon. The king had died long ago and Mito was ready to retire from the throne soon, but could not do so till Gon found a princess to marry.

Gon was a nice prince- a lovely one, in fact, and nearly every day ladies would come knocking at their door, asking to see him, if he would like to have some tea with them, hoping to claim his heart. These ladies would claim to be princesses from faraway kingdoms, but this was not the case, and it was usually rather obvious to the black-haired prince.

But the prince did not judge the ladies by how high up or how low they were in the ladder of royalty or nobility. If he had met a lady he truly liked, he would ask for her hand in marriage. But all the ladies he had met were all the same- giggly, far too girlish and... Boring. Though Gon treated each lady like the jewel she was, with care, kindness and respect, he could not help but find them mundane.

He wanted a princess that was interesting. Someone fun, exciting, thoughtful and... Daring. He would be lucky enough to find the first three qualities in a single princess, but if he found the fourth he would immediately begin preparations for the wedding.

However.

The princess first had to be willing to marry him. Never force a princess to do something she absolutely refuses to do, with a passion. That was something his mother, the Queen, had instilled in him over the years.

Since he was the only possible heir, he could not leave the castle as much as he would've liked to, just in case something happened to the Queen, so he couldn't go looking for the perfect princess. All the poor boy could do was hope that the princess would show up.

_-XoXoXoX-XoXoXoX-XoXoXoX__-XoXoXoX-XoXoXoX-XoXoXoX-_

_Sauegard_

"Princess,"Killua's personal maid, Kanaria, said, "the King and Queen wish to speak to you in their room."

But the said princess, who was lying on her bed, groaned and chucked her pillow at Kanaria, who only smiled in return.

"I don't want to,"the princess complained, "I'm perfectly happy lying on my bed."

Kanaria only shook her head and placed the pillow on the bed. "It's probably a serious matter, Princess. If you go, I'll bring you those chocolates you like."

Killua's eyes immediately widened at the sound of chocolate being mentioned. The princess was a candy addict, and especially loved chocolates. She leaped off her bed, slipped on her shoes and ran to her parents' room, where her parents awaited her.

She knocked on the doors and waited for her parents' approval before opening the doors and entering.

"Hey, Mom and Dad," she greeted. Her parents, King Silva and Queen Kikyo, nodded to her in acknowledgement. The queen patted the space on the bed beside her and gestured for her daughter to come sit next to her. The said daughter sat down obediently and silently, not looking forward to what awaited her. She glanced up at her silver-haired father, who gave her a serious look.

"Killua," he began, "you're turning 18 in two months. Then you'll have to take over the throne."

The silver-haired princess rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know. What else is new?" She sighed, crossing her legs.

"You need a husband, Killu," Kikyo said, her voice bittersweet. "A good prince to stand by your side."

But the princess had heard this many times, over and over again, and was getting tired of it. She stood up, dusted her blue dress and folded her arms.

"I know, I know," she said, glaring."So you know what? I'll go look for a prince. A prince that I like. Okay? And I won't come back until I do!" And with that, she ran out of the room, slammed the doors behind her and ran back to her own room, where Kanaria waited by her bedside with a box of chocolates.

"Listen, Kanaria," Killua said, "I'm going to the neighbouring kingdoms to look for a prince I like and might actually want to marry so that my parents will shut up. I'll be back sooner or later." She took the box of chocolates Kanaria had and put them into a rucksack, into which she put other things like water and supplies. Kanaria watched as the princess walked out of the room and silently hoped that the princess would find the right prince. For years she'd been listening to her complain that she didn't want her parents to decide her future for her, that if she absolutely had to marry she'd have to marry an... Awesome prince.

"An awesome prince, Your Majesty?" Kanaria had asked, stifling a giggle.

"Yeah, an awesome prince, Kanaria!" the princess had replied, "a cool, fun and especially awesome prince who doesn't mind that I'm not as girly as the other princesses! Someone I can be myself around. H-hey! Don't you laugh at me, Kanaria!"

Afterwards, the two had laughed for several minutes before regaining their composure.

The servant smiled fondly at the memory before heading downstairs, where she found the silver-haired girl talking to her two younger siblings, Alluka and Kalluto.

"Big sis is gonna be away from the kingdom for a few days, okay?" she told her sisters.

Alluka, the long-haired one of the two, hugged Killua tightly and cried out that she didn't want her to go. Her sibling smiled softly and patted her hair, reassuring her that she would be back real soon. She motioned for Kalluto to join the hug, and openly invited the quieter girl when she finally joined. Kanaria smiled at the sight.

After the hug was broken, Killua left, but not before bading goodbye to Kanaria.

"Princess, aren't you going to take your horse?" Kanaria asked, slightly confused and shocked that the princess was planning to travel by foot.

"You mean Mike? Nah, if I take him I might be tempted to come back, and I already said that I'm not coming back until I find the right prince. Unless I don't find him before my birthday. Then I'll come back for my coronation, I guess." Killua replied, scratching her cheek. "And I'm only going to the neighbouring kingdoms like Fealae, Yuile and maybe Tebel. Each country only takes a couple of days to reach, so I'll be fact, I think two months is more than enough time."

There were three other kingdoms nearby, but she'd already met the princes and decided that she didn't like them very much. The prince from Hisore was far too creepy and obsessed with cards, the prince from Zushwinge was only interested in martial arts and the prince from Menchelle snapped at every single person who didn't appreciate food.

Killua shivered at the recollection of her experience with the Menchelle prince, but quickly dismissed the thought and assured Kanaria that she'd be alright.

She gave her personal servant a final smile before slipping on her hood(so as to hide her identity, for her silver hair made it rather evident who she was and she didn't want anyone stopping her on her journey and delaying her) and setting off.

_-XoXoXoX-XoXoXoX-XoXoXoX__-XoXoXoX-XoXoXoX-XoXoXoX-_

Weeks later, the silver-haired princess had visited Yuile and Fealae. The prince of Fealae, Leorio, was a bit too touchy-feely for her liking. He studied medicine and had a good heart, but he was still a pervert.

The prince of Yuile, Kurapika, was a studious and pretty boy. He was polite, kind and sensible like a true gentleman, which gave him points, but Killua just felt somehow that she couldn't be herself around him. Plus, she later found out that he was engaged to Princess Neon, the spoilt princess of the Kingdom of Norraine.

And now Killua had entered the land of Tebel, her last hope. She was a little fatigued and was running low on chocolate. She could go to an inn to rest, but she wanted to meet the prince as soon as she could, so she decided to carry on.

Suddenly, she felt a drop of water from above. She looked up and saw that it was drizzling. The clouds were covering the sun and the sky was a dull grey, though it was only four in the afternoon.

"Uh-oh," she thought, silently cursing the rain, which only got heavier and heavier. An hour later it was raining cats and dogs, but Killua was getting real close to the castle and was determined not to give up. She walked a little distance more before the castle came into was drenched and tired, so seeing the place made her heave a sigh of relief. She popped her last piece of chocolate into her mouth and began running.

Just seconds into running, she tripped and fell. She was about to pick herself up when suddenly, she heard a loud clap of thunder and saw a flash of lightning. She jumped at the sound, but quickly recovered from the shock, picked herself up and resumed her running.

"Damn it," she hissed to herself, "I wish the thunder and lightning would go away!"

But it did not cease and carried on, taunting the princess. Luckily for her, she had reached one of the castle's side gates. She knocked on the gate loudly and waited for a reply.

Not a minute later, the door behind the gates was opened by a black-haired teenager who looked her age.

_-XoXoXoX-XoXoXoX-XoXoXoX__-XoXoXoX-XoXoXoX-XoXoXoX-_

The Prince of Tebel had been taking a stroll around the castle when he heard the loud clattering of the side gate's metal bars. He hurried towards the gate and flung open the door that stood between him and the gate.

In front of him stood a girl around his age. A brown hood prevented him from seeing her face completely, but he caught sight of silver. The girl was drenched and looked miserable.

Gon unlocked the gate and invited the girl in. The silver-haired girl gladly took him up on his offer and waited for him to lock the gate and shut the door before slipping off her hood. "Thanks," she breathed, clearly relieved.

"N-no problem..." Gon replied, looking at the girl again.

The girl had long, sleek silver hair that reached down to her waist, and ocean blue eyes. She wore a light blue dress and matching shoes. Rainwater dripped from her hair and clothes. She was soaked and her face looked tired. Gon guessed she'd had a rough time and fetched a towel for her.

"Here," he offered brightly," dry yourself up with this."

The girl accepted the towel silently and followed the prince as he led her to the kitchen, where he asked for someone to get the girl a mug of hot chocolate before asking her to have a seat.

The silver-haired girl sat down at a small wooden table in the corner of the room and waited for the prince to join her with the drink. When the prince arrived he handed her the mug and they sat in silence for a while.

"So!" Gon chirped awkwardly, watching the girl stir her drink. "Are you feeling a little better now?"

The girl nodded, pushing the towel a little higher up her shoulders. "Mhm," she replied.

The Prince of Tebel chuckled softly. The girl seemed a little shy.

"My name's Gon Freecss, Prince and Heir of Tebel. Nice to meet you, Miss...?"he introduced himself politely, extending his hand towards the girl.

"Killua, Princess and Heiress of the Kingdom of Sauegard," the silver-haired girl replied, taking the prince's hand with a tiny smirk on her face.

As soon as the word 'princess' left her lips, Queen Mito came into the kitchen, grinning.

"Who's this, dear?" the Queen asked, feigning innocence.

But the prince was no stranger to his mother's tactics and laughed, saying that she should already know as she'd been eavesdropping.

The Queen excused herself and her son from the kitchen, leaving Killua to finish her drink in silence.

_-XoXoXoX-XoXoXoX-XoXoXoX__-XoXoXoX-XoXoXoX-XoXoXoX-_

"Mom, she's definitely a princess. We both know perfectly well that she's not an impostor! It's already been said that the heiress of Sauegard was a princess with unmistakable silver hair and blue eyes!" Gon insisted softly but sharply.

His mother folded her arms. "Maybe, but you never know. Someone could have dyed her hair or something. We shall soon find out if she is truly a princess. Let her sleep in the second-to-last guest room from the foyer later. I have an idea," she told her son strictly. The prince shrugged, sighed and heard back into the kitchen, leaving his mother to do her strange things.

When he entered the kitchen, he saw the princess conversing with the kitchen staff member who had made her the hot chocolate.

"Hey, tell me how you made this! It's really good!" she exclaimed to the staff member enthusiastically, her blue orbs shining brightly.

The staff member laughed, scribbled down the recipe on a notepad, ripped out the page and handed it to her, grinning. Gon chuckled at the sight, causing the princess to turn her head at him and blush when she realized he had seen her acting childish.

"You really like chocolate, don't you?" he teased. The silver-haired princess scratched her cheek, her cheeks red, but she replied to his comment.

"It's my most favourite food, ever!" she sighed, beginning to drool at the thought of chocolate.

The prince laughed, saying that he liked chocolate, too, and the two heirs of their respective kingdoms spent several hours getting to know each other.

When it was around nine o' clock, Killua started to yawn. Gon immediately led her upstairs to the guest room that his mother had told him to, wished her a good night and shut the door. Then, he went to the Queen's room, where his mother sat on the bed waiting for him.

"How was it?" she asked eagerly, curious to find out about the girl.

The black-haired prince blushed a little, his cheeks turning a bright shade of red. "I really like her," he admitted. "She's fun and interesting, unlike the other girls who come by the castle. Even though she's a princess, she travels on a skateboard more often than she does on a horse, you know! But she's really nice, too, and her blushing face is cute. She really likes chocolate, and tomorrow I'm gonna take her fishing! That is, if she wants to..."

The Queen's eyes widened upon hearing her son talk about the princess so enthusiastically. This was the first time he had ever done so, and she knew that the two would be a good pair. (After preparing for her plan, she had eavesdropped on them, after all... But Gon didn't need to know that.)

The Queen hoped that Killua was really the princess she claimed to be, so that her son wouldn't have his heart broken. In the meantime, all she could do was wait for morning to arrive.

_-XoXoXoX-XoXoXoX-XoXoXoX__-XoXoXoX-XoXoXoX-XoXoXoX-_

Morning came, and the excited prince eagerly ran towards the room the princess was in. He knocked on the door and entered when the okay was given. He tilted his head, confused at the sight of Killua lying half-awake on the floor with nothing but a pillow.

He glanced at the bed and gasped. Instead of the single mattress it should have had, it had at least twenty mattresses stacked high, one on top of the other, almost reaching the ceiling.

"K-Killua!"he turned to the silver-haired princess, who sat up sleepily and looked at him.

"Mhm?" Killua responded, wishing she could just drift back into the land of sleep.

"Why... Why're you sleeping on the floor? And why are there so many mattresses?" Gon asked.

Killua sighed and shrugged. "It was like that when I came in. The mattresses were pretty soft and nice, yeah, but there was something in the middle that hurt to lie on. I was tired and didn't want to drag a mattress all the way down, so I just grabbed a pillow and slept on the carpet. It's really soft, by the way."

Gon laughed, agreeing with the princess's last statement before taking her hand and bringing her to Queen Mito's room.

Killua blushed as she felt Gon's hand brush against his and noticed that the prince's cheeks were red as well. She smiled as they entered the Queen's room.

Gon's mother smiled as she saw the two youngsters enter. She asked Killua how the night had been for her and, when the silver-haired princess replied that something underneath the mattresses had been pricking her back, grinned. She walked back to the guest room with them and lifted up the mattress at the bottom to reveal a small piece of chocolate covered in plastic. It hadn't melted due to the low temperature of the room, neither had it broken due to the small amount of pressure on it. It definitely wasn't sharp, but the fact that Killua could feel it pricking her proved that she was indeed a real princess. Tomboy or not, she was still a princess who, like all others, had delicate skin.

Gon sighed as his mother explained her _oh so brilliant_ plan. It hadn't really been necessary, but at least now he knew for sure that Killua was a princess, and that he could marry her. If she agreed, that is. He stole a glance at the silver-haired princess and gasped when he saw her fuming angrily.

"Hey, that was a waste of perfectly good chocolate, you know!" she complained. "What was in it, by the way?"

"Caramel," the Queen replied. Gon burst into laughter as Killua gasped at the answer and continued complaining about how chocolate, especially ones with lovely caramel in them, should _**never **_ be wasted. She was funny!

The Queen was about to leave the room when she turned back and reminded the pair that they were still holding hands. The two looked down at their hands. Upon realizing that their hands were still connected, their faces were darkened in heavy blushes.

But instead of letting go, they gripped each other's hand tightly and laughed. In the midst of laughing, however, Gon gathered his courage to kiss the princess on her cheek. Then he chuckled at the adorable sight of the blushing girl.

Gon knew that Killua was the one.

The princess he'd been waiting for.

And hopefully, he was the prince she'd been looking for too.

He let go of her hand and got down on one knee, making the girl gasp.

"Killua Zoldyck, Princess of the Kingdom of Sauegard..." he began, "I know we just met, but will you marry me?"

The silver-haired princess, whose cheeks were a dark, beautiful shade of red, replied.

"Gon Freecss, Prince of the Kingdom of Tebel, I should think that the answer is obvious."

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**.**

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THE END**

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oxoxo

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Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed! :D


	3. The Snow Assassin and the Princess I

**Disclaimer: **I WISH I own Hunter X Hunter and the tale of Snow White.

**Author: **Nispedana  
**Fairy Tale: **Snow White  
**Genre/Rating: **Romance, Friendship**, **fantasy **/ **K+  
**WARNINGS: **Fem! Gon

**A/N:** This is a genderbending fic, with Gon and Leorio being female. The concept of nen is also used, albeit slightly with different applications. xD Credits to Papilio. Ageha for suggesting that I'm actually allowed to change it like this. The original title was, after all, simply: 'Snow White and the Assassin'.

Anyway, hope you enjoy and don't hesitate to leave some feedback!

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**The Snow Assassin and the Princess  
****Part 1 of 3**  


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Once upon a time, in a fantastical land of Ago, existed a large kingdom blessed with richness of soil, abundance of resources, and smiles of its people. They were ruled by a just and powerful King who led the land to its current greatness. But of course, no one was an island—and the great King was no exception. He was supported by his beautiful wife who in turn was bearing their very first—and soon to be the only—princess.

The Queen was a very beautiful woman, gentle and strong, loved by everyone she met. But at the same time, she was said to love too much, willing to give everything for the people she loved. It was proven to be true the day of her childbirth.

It was sudden and happened much earlier than anticipated. The King was out, checking up on his kingdom. But it was well-known the Nen surrounding the royal line was sacred—only a chosen few could touch them at such crucial times, especially at birth. The midwife that fit the job, a woman with golden hair, strawberry-colored orbs, and deep man-like voice told her the baby was weak, frail, and dying—and not just because it was born prematurely.

The Queen, after going through such painful ordeal, held her baby and realized it was true. Her baby whom they believed would be born to be the strongest in the land was losing life at such unbearable rate.

And not having a second thought, the Queen gave her life to the princess.

It was an event that shook the whole Kingdom, especially to the King—who lost his most royal supporter, best friend, and lover. And he, as bright as he was, imminently turned in to depression. His cousin, the princess' future governess, took the role of raising the princess while he continued to rule his land with wisdom and justice—perhaps to distract himself—but no longer having the will to do the same with his household, at least for a while.

He worked harder than ever, but everyone still mourned for their Queen. And albeit the land was healthy…, the gloom and constant rainfall would characterize the Kingdom for the year that followed.

One day, during one of his trips to his land's borders, a young woman in her teenage years, or so it seemed, suddenly appeared in front of the King's carriage forcing its abrupt and practically violent stop. It was too late for the horse hit the maiden with, apparently, such force that she would lay unconscious for two full days, waking up inside the one of the palace's premier guest chambers.

The ladies-in-waiting assigned to her brightened and some went immediately to the King to tell the news. The King looked relieved, as he didn't want to kill the beautiful maiden of characteristic golden locks by accident—even when the doctors said the force shouldn't have rendered her unconscious for so long. He mused that like his daughter during her birth, this girl must have been incredibly fragile as well.

She proved him wrong the following days, showing off her brilliance and knowledge with various arts, making him wonder where she really came from. And when he finally asked, she embraced him and sobbed.

She cried and cried, and looked at him intently with her strawberry-colored eyes. She said she was a slave from the adjacent country—as many others were, and a lot of them were _his_ citizens—even stating evidences that were no less than logical and using her naive and helpless aura to make her point. And he, the grieving King, wanted to protect all of his citizens… as much as the guilt he felt when he failed to protect his own wife.

And believing her seemingly innocent words, he sent out his army to rescue his people.

But months would pass and he would fail to return. A kingdom that depended on its King's life started losing its health. The priests were scurrying for someone to take his place, but the princess was much too young to rule. And they feared, after some observation of the one-year old princess, that the girl might not have the life force fit to rule.

And then when everyone was losing hope—preparing for draught, even—the woman with hair as bright as the sun, strawberry-colored eyes, and eyes as wide as the sea stepped up and showed she could use 'Nen'. It surprised everyone, as only royalty and a handful of others possessed this ability.

The Priest, the people who comprised the King-less council, mused if they truly had no other choice. A lot of loyalists and some even attempted to attack the girl, saying her presence was beyond suspicious—that she planned everything. A lot of others doubted the claim, for the girl looked so young, innocent, and pure.

She effortlessly made the dozen rebelling soldiers succumb to her prowess, making them lose power simply by her presence. It was like she was taking their lives away, as much as their royal line's existence gave life to the kingdom. She apologized afterwards, stating she did so to protect herself, and that they would not die from exposure to her aura anyway.

Eventually, everyone agreed that the girl would become their new Queen—at least until someone from the previous King's line would be able to take her place. The girl graciously accepted the responsibility, occasionally voicing out her concerns and that she would do everything in her power to rule wisely.

And similarly, the life force of the rulers, what the priests called 'Nen' would inevitably affect that life of the land—and with the new Queen's ascend to the throne, life returned to the land but it was not as healthy. It was not gloomy as the previous year, but it was not as bright as it used to be either. Certain cities turned dark, and a lot of areas died. The famous forests would soon be known as the 'Dark Forests', whom only the bravest of the brave ventured on—yet never got out of either way.

The new land characterized the new ruler, although even the priests would never be sure of it at all. And yet no one complained for the intelligent ones were afraid and while the unsuspecting ones yielded as they did not have a choice. They could only hope their King would return, and their princess grew up.

But the King never did return. And the princess…?

Well, she didn't grow up as one.

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Fourteen years later

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_La, lalalala~_

A pretty princess with greenish black hair sang as she scrubbed the inside of the palace walls, her smooth cream-colored skin juxtaposed with the rough texture of the adobe walls. Her smile was bright and it made the birds passing by stop their travels and sit somewhere near where they could hear her voice and feel her warmth.

She continued to do the supposedly banal task that never did quite hamper her brightness. She hummed and occasionally wiped the beads of sweat appearing on her head, then and again.

"Gon, that's enough." Someone from behind her said and she smiled before turning around. "We should start studying geography now." And her smile turned to a pout.

"Demo… Mito-san…" Gon mumbled.

Mito frowned and raised the book. "Seriously, when are you going to stop doing maids' chores and start studying seriously?" She paused. "You're the princess!"

"But I don't even have Nen."

"…that's…" the older woman paused. "You'll be a great ruler, Gon. Nen or no Nen."

"But isn't it necessary?" Gon said, at least knowing that fact. "The land depends on the Nen of the ruler. Bisuke-san said I should just train to be a good woman, try and clean the palace or something, and marry someone who _can_ use Nen."

"How many times do I have to tell you the second one could be a joke?"

"She never said so." Gon muttered. "Besides, the maids are all great women aren't they?"

"Well, yes, but that's not the point!" Mito said and huffed. "Let's just study, okay?"

"But it's so _boring_."

"_Mou!_ You can't stay like this forever Gon!" Mito said and grabbed her hand, forcing her to stand up. Gon looked at her cleaning items and picked them up. "…Gon!"

"Demoooo"

It was then they heard a light-hearted chuckle from another part of the corridor. They turned and saw handsome young lad appearing. He was gifted with blonde hair extending down to his waist, tied up along his neck, and deep blue cerulean eyes that could entice anyone. "Mito-san is right, Gon. It's time you start studying, and absorbing what you learned." He smiled and leaned down slightly so they were eye-to-eye.

"As a future ruler, you should be knowledgeable about a lot of things. You can't run away from your responsibilities forever."

And with that, the princess sighed in defeat. She really had no say with this boy who was only three years her senior.

"Yes, Kurapika."

**…**

They were then alone in the study, Kurapika and Gon, as Mito was suddenly called in by the head maid for some issues with house chores among the maids. It was a usual thing, especially with the Queen's taste for extravagance.

"So, shall we start with History?"

"Hmn…"

The studying was like always, Gon trying to concentrate (but failing miserably) and Kurapika being as patient as ever. Soon enough, he asked her to read a few paragraphs out loud to make her up. They didn't realize Gon didn't hear where she was supposed to read so she read some random paragraphs and decided to just wait for Kurapika to correct her.

"There were a few independent clans around the kingdom. Only the strongest cultures were left as the others dissolved into the kingdom's. One notable clan was the Kuru—"

She was cut off when she felt something odd in the air and whipped her head to look at her friend. She flinched in surprise. "K-Kurapika? Your eyes are red!"

Hearing this, he stood up and closed his eyes, steadily excusing himself. He was quick and Gon almost lost her breath. She ran after him and, by reflex, hugged him from behind when he was finally in reach. His eyes widened.

"I'm sorry I asked. Don't be mad, Kurapika."

"I'm not…" was all he said and she let him go. He turned around and she almost sighed in relief when she saw his eyes were back to its pretty cerulean shade. "How can I?"

And she stared at him with those trusting eyes, telling him paradoxically she didn't believe him. He sighed in defeat, this time there was no escape from telling her his origins.

"You know… I, too, was an heir. It was not a kingdom but it was a powerful clan—my family." He paused and led her back to the table, calming down somehow. "We lived in the borders near the adjacent kingdom. Bandits attacked my sanctuary and I was all that was left.

"I was sold as a slave, and your father took me in." He smiled. "And not as a slave—but like his own son."

He stared at her and she smiled at the fact that he seemed a lot calmer now. "I was just turning four, then, but I remember everything clearly. It's all thanks to you two. I owe you a lot."

He leaned slightly closer and his expression turned from nostalgic to dead-serious. "I want _you_ to rule this Kingdom, and not that woman."

"Mou, it's rude to call Bisuke-san _that woman_!"

"But…" He leaned down to whisper. "Don't you think it's suspicious? Special ability or not—she looked like the sixteen year old your father found _fifteen years ago_."

"I…well, no."

He sighed. "Whatever the case, you must not let her take the Kingdom. I do not trust her."

"If you say so…" Gon mumbled. "But the kingdom needs a Nen us—" She paused and looked at him. "Didn't you say you were an heir to a powerful clan?"

He nodded.

"Can _you_ use nen?"

He nodded again.

"We should get married, then!"

.

Kurapika blinked and felt that all-too familiar tint of red was creeping up his cheeks. He shook her head in disapproval and cursed the gods for making her painfully idiotic at times.

"Do you know what that means?" He asked almost wanting to nag Mito for not teaching her properly. But after getting some logic back (after a depressing amount of seconds), he mused she probably _did_ teach Gon the basics and functions of marriage… Gon probably was just not able to absorb it.

Kurapika could all too clearly see her mind floating to some flowery field during the lecture about marriage.

"Of course!" Gon said, planting a seed of hope in his chest. "That means we could be together forever, right? I mean, that's what we're planning to do anyway, right?"

"Well…" he said and smiled at her sardonically. He raised his hand and patted her head. "That's an understatement."

"What do you mean? You don't wanna get married?"

He chuckled awkwardly and stood up. He leaned down slowly and kissed her forehead.

"When you truly understand what it means, propose to me again, and I will give you my answer."

.

"Eh?"

He only smiled and stood up straight, extending his hand for her to take. "Shall we have our little lunch, then?" He said and she only nodded in puzzlement.

They walked in silence to the servants' quarters, as she never ate with the Queen, with the latter saying she liked eating alone and no one was to disturb her. No one disagreed since the Princess always wanted to eat with the servants and her aunt, anyway.

Soon they arrived at the three feet double door and it opened. She tilted her head in wonder. It was dark but for some reason her senses told her a lot of people were insi—

"_SURPRIIIISSEEEE!" _

She winced and then the lights opened. As she absorbed what happened, her puzzled face was soon replaced with a bright smile and rosy cheeks that everyone loved dearly.

"**HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" **

* * *

Bisuke Kruenger, a.k.a. the Great Queen, first generation of her dynasty, sat on her wonderful golden throne, wearing yet another one of her highly ornate, frilly, and _big_ dresses. She looked at her court and the approximately a dozen of guards that would probably be useless if a really strong Nen-user were to try and attack her.

The court was large, with area as large (or even larger) as that of a classical town plaza. The marble floor had been grand since the creation of the palace, but Bisuke replaced them so that the pattern was much more mystique and complex, just as she wanted it. But even with the large open area and cool flooring, it was still hot.

"Please keep up the pace, Fan-san." She said sweetly at Fan-san, a random servant who was in-charge of her personal ventilation. She never even took note of his physical characteristics. He was useful and that was that. On her other side, stood a full-body mirror, again, made of gold. It was moulded by the best craftsman that she hired all that time ago, and she immediately asked for its delivery as soon as she stepped into this place.

She nonchalantly looked at her hand and simultaneously, her eyes twitched at an unexpected sight. _Wrinkles_, hideous things that they were. And she stood up abruptly and looked around.

She pulled out her utterly cute face and yelled, "Everyone please leave me alone." And everyone, already used to it and the aura that came after if they asked questions, did as they were told. "Be sure to lock the door."

And as soon as the door closed she headed the mirror beside her throne and took off her clothes. She squinted her eyes and looked at her beautiful body. Or at least it _was_. A lot of wrinkles had appeared and she disliked them very very very much.

Eventually, time passed by and she didn't realize it. (It always flied when her mind wandered about her appearance). She looked out and saw that it was already noon, so she knew she should be ordering her lunch soon.

But she was not in the mood to eat, not with these ugly wrinkles, so she absent-mindedly just put her clothing back on, and decided to look at the town from her window. She frowned in ponder. If only the young girls in the nearby towns were multiplying at a more convenient rate. It wasn't though, unfortunately, and the people's life force was so much weaker than before. Her body's increasing demand for more life was not helping.

In retrospect, it was time to think of a change of plans…

But as she mused, she heard some singing from below. It was practically a hum but she had great hearing. Bisuke looked down and looked at the palace garden right below her room. He saw a girl. She was wearing a maid's dress and she was picking up flowers, which Bisuke assumed to would be used to decorate the corridors.

In any case, an evil smirk found its way on the Queen's soon-to-be-soft-again skin.

**…**

Luzviminda of Hourtiz picked up pretty flowers as her first official job as the palace maid. She sang happily and didn't realize later that she was singing loudly, too. It was an embarrassing habit she should start to seriously get rid of.

After all, she was serving the palace now and she did not want to cause it any trouble. She sighed happily and picked up one last flower and put it in her basket. It was a daisy, a yellow one, and the color complemented her red hair rather well. She was a classic ginger, Luzviminda was—with her freckles and green eyes, and red-orange hair.

She smiled. Her family was so proud of her when she got in this job, which wasn't easy, given the standards. She was going to be a great maid that the royal family would not regret hiring.

Luzviminda wanted to meet one of them soon, especially the princess.

She heard the Queen and the Princess were awfully beautiful. But they said the princess was born fragile, so she never went out—no one but servants knew of her, and it was actually one of the reasons why she wanted to be a maid.

She was pulled out of her fantasies when she heard loud rustles from the side. It was loud and it was getting closer. She gulped in terror but pushed it away since the palace was an incredibly secure place, wasn't it? There was no need to be scared…

"Hello."

Luzviminda stared.

And then she gaped. A very familiar figure emerged from the trees. She saw her before, during one of her town visits. And when she finally found the logic to breathe, Luzviminda gulped deeply.

What was the _Queen _doing there?

"I…ah, I—"

"Hush, child." The Queen said as if she didn't look sixteen, herself. Luzviminda was utterly star struck. The Ruler extending her hand to her in such a friendly manner—like she was her _friend_—didn't help with her flustered state. "Come here."

And she did just that. She didn't even realize she dropped her basket.

She was led to a corner of the palace, it was relatively dark due to the shadows and Luzviminda wanted to ask what they were doing here when she was shut by the Queen widening her smile. It seemed, for the moment, a congenial and beautiful smile… but, slowly, it turned to one of sadism.

She instinctively tried to let go of the Queen's hand but she couldn't—it was either the Queen's grip wasn't forceful yet so _strong_, or she was becoming weak. She soon realized that it was both.

She started losing the feel of her legs, her vision darkened, and she fell down without knowing it. "…y-your h-highness…" she asked the woman staring at her for help. She didn't know what was happening…

Luzviminda of Hourtiz

Slowly… but surely, would lose all of her strength, her smooth skin, and would gain more and more wrinkles. Her hair would lose the vibrance it once had, and every cell in her body would die in agony….just before, inevitably…,

…turning to ash.

**…**

_Ah_~

Queen Bisuke once more looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. She was a perfect sixteen year old again, and as beautiful as ever. Sure, it was another maid gone forever. What could she say, she needed the youth and she often times could get lazy to go on a disguise and take a few innocent townsfolk's life.

Besides, Gon was there. The Princess was all-too-_willing_, she mused in amusement, to fill in the gap in work force. The girl's extremely good and efficient, too, at maid's work. The girl was born with her father's inhuman physical abilities, which she used for house chores.

Anyway, the Queen was beautiful again, and that was what mattered.

_Beautiful_

She smiled and looked at the mirror itself and raised her hand. She waved her hand over what seemed to be a flat reflective surface and with a _fling_, the whole area lit up even more and it all came from the light coming from the mirror. Her face remained impassive all the while and soon the light compressed to some thin lines that eventually formed the contour of a handsome head. She smiled at his familiar face.

"Mirror, mirror, on a stand," She said, as if it was a chant, as the face's detail formed further. "Who's the fairest of them all?"

A second later the face became alive and made an expression she did not like.

Bisuke knew that face—albeit the last time she saw it, the person in the mirror was, well, still human. She knew she was not going to like what she was going to hear.

"There is a girl…,that is not _you_, that has finally reached the sweet age of sixteen." Her eyes twitched at that. "She grew into a flower that would exceed your beauty by folds."

She wanted to punch this mirror very much, but that would be thoroughly unproductive. So instead, she held her breath for ten seconds and breathed out. "Your standards didn't decrease after all this time, hmn, mirror mirror on a stand?"

"I assure you, my standards were not as low as that of humans. The girl was by far fairest, even in the the values of the gods."

"So…" She said with a deep frown. "Who is this?"

"Something tells me you already have the answer."

And Bisuke _did_. She shook her hand and gestured to shut the mirror up again when it continued. "But… she is also your salvation—" She paused and stared at it. "Successfully take her life, and you will remain forever, young."

_Immortality_. So tempting.

No, it was a must now.

But a scoff went out of her mouth instead. "What do you think of me? Do you not think I have tried?"

She _had_ tried a few times before and failed, and the mirror knew of this. Had he started mocking her again? Like back then? Bisuke wanted so badly to take the Princess Antigone's life force _again, _butshe couldn't. At first, she was reluctant since it would be troublesome to make the princess disappear right after she ascended the throne. So she waited a decade to try, and she was introduced to one of the biggest puzzle in her several decades of living.

It turned out she couldn't take the girl's life again. She was a powerful Nen user, Bisuke, and as she knew one could give life force to another—as the Queen did, it required a ton of experience and a large amount of life force. It was impossible for the Queen to save the girl's life _and _put a protective spell over her daughter, it was just not possible.

So why _couldn't_ she absorb that girl's life? The girl couldn't even _use _Nen!

But now that she thought about it, why _couldn't_ she use nen?

She stared at the form in the mirror. When she consulted him back then, he told her it was impossible for her. Did anything change?

"What made you change your last conclusion, Mirror?"

"The protection was given to the princess by her _father_."The mirror said making her stare.

Ging, she knew, was dead. She planned everything to the bits. After all, underestimating Ging would definitely lead to her demise. In any case, the mirror continued its sentence.

"It was starting to lose its effect."

She nodded in comprehension. Ging probably realized her plans during his battles and gave his life to protect his daughter.

For a moment there, Bisuke wondered how the princess would feel if she found out _both_ her parents gave their lives to her?

She'd give off a nice reaction, she'd bet.

"But you would never be able to take her youth." She frowned and raised an eyebrow. Now she was confused. Was this blasted mirror broken somewhere?

"What do you propose I do, then?"

"The heart is where the blood—the symbol for life—is created. It is what the spell protects, and paradoxically is only owned by its owner. You must take out her heart, and you need only the heart alone, and you shall have her life."

Her heart? Easy. The princess might have inhuman physical abilities…

But so did she.

"You cannot touch her yourself." She whipped her head to its direction and glared. _One more bomb and she would throw this mirror out the window. _"For the girl was too pure to be touched be touched by dirty hands like yours."

"_What?!I _Then how, by the gods, do you propose we kill her then?!" No one in their right minds, not to mention 'clean' people, would dare take the Princess's heart!

"There are people who kill not for evil but because it was their nature. Do you call a lion evil by killing a deer?" He said monotonously and she raised another elegant brow. _Had he always asked rhetorical questions?_

She paused.

"What do you mean?"

And there was another pause.

"Once again, sire, you already know the answer."

* * *

...

"Everyone, thank you so much!" Gon grinned and—_whoosh—_blew her adorable little candles some of the maids probably made themselves. Lunch time was great! The greatest one so far, and this was by far the most fun birthday as well. Sure she forgot again (for some reason, not one year did she remember at the actual day of her birthday), but she always had wonderful birthdays thanks to these people.

They made her feel so… _loved_—which made the knowledge of why her mother passed that much bearable. And since her mother gave her life to her, it felt like her mother was celebrating as well. She always wondered how she could forget her own birthday so often.

Maybe because she was always happy.

She looked around and smiled at the brightness they gave her. "Let's eat the cake!" She said to end the party, and they did just that.

When she was eating next to Kurapika and Mito, she overheard a few of the maids whispering about flowers. "Luzviminda was supposed to get them. Where _is_ she?"

"She probably got lost."

"Oh dear, she'd be in such a drag. She was supposed to continue cleaning the lobby windows after this right?"

"Hmn."

"Ne..." She said after gulping a slice. "Who's Luzviminda?"

"She's a newcomer. She's hyped up to see you." And after a recollection, Mito smiled. "She's around your age, too!"

Gon twinkled at that.

"She immediately stopped cleaning the lobby and ran for some flowers when she found out about the surprise."

"I'd love to meet her!" Gon said, it frankly it was too obvious.

"Of course you do." Kurapika smiled knowingly and pointed at her cake. "Finish your cake before you go looking for her though."

And she ate the whole slice a second later.

…

Kurapika went with her after she said her beaming goodbye and thanks to everyone. She was as happy as always, and it was great to see her even _happier_. That smile and flush on her face was an enticing sight, from then to now.

She was like the morning sun, really, to sum things up.

"Did you have fun today?" He asked, just to start a conversation. She grinned and nodded enthusiastically. "Now you plan on finding the new maid, yes?"

"Uh-huh."

"Need any help?" He asked again, albeit he knew very well the answer.

"No." She smiled. "I wanna meet her on my own. Ge-he. I mean if that's alright."

"Of course." Kurapika said and chuckled. After all, Gon was always on it to make new friends, be they humans or animals. He knew better than to try and help her, so instead he just waved his hand as she waved hers.

He didn't realize that was the last time he would see her in a while…

* * *

Later, back in the courts, the Queen was once again sitting on her throne and just finished speaking with some priest and advisors for the usual political issues. She never really worked on them, but she was definitely the Queen.

As she spoke about issues she actually knew about, she flinched, feeling a presence no one else in the room even knew existed.

"What's wrong , sire?"

She stared. "I'm not feeling well." She said. "I would like to be left alone now," She paused and looked at everyone cutely.

"Everyone leave the room, please." And everyone, once again, did as they were told. As soon as the door closed she closed her eyes. "Come out."

She opened her eyes and what felt like a shadow materialized in front of her. She did not hear a sound but she knew he moved. She opened her eyes, and the first thing she did at the sight of him was gasp at his beauty.

She had thought this person's nickname was a little cheesy before but it seemed fitting now. Not because he looked bad, but because the combination of coldness, and serenity that he emitted made the nickname suit him.

Him.

Him with his silver hair, deep blue eyes, and snow white skin.

This was him.

And she found another evil smirk on her face that moment.

"Welcome to the palace, Snow Assassin."

**.  
.**

**END of  
The Snow Assassin and The Princess**  
**Part 1 of 3**

* * *

…

* * *

Thank you for reading and I would love to know your thoughts on the story so far! :D


	4. The Snow Assassin and the Princess II

**Disclaimer: **I WISH I own Hunter X Hunter and the tale of Snow White.

**Author: **Nispedana  
**Fairy Tale: **Snow White  
**Genre/Rating: **Romance, Friendship**, **fantasy **/ **K+  
**WARNINGS: **Fem! Gon

**A/N: ** Lol. Sorry it got dragged so long. I tried to answer a few loopholes from the Disney version and it just, well, kinda expanded.

* * *

**The Snow Assassin and the Princess  
****Part 2 of 3****  
**

* * *

The infamous Snow Assassin walked across the corridors of the palace nonchalantly and yet without getting noticed. Soon he reached the large lobby on an elevated floor. It was where balls were often held, and there were two balconies on the side used by the visitors for some air. The whole room was lit up by the large stained windows only a few feet or so apart, and so massive columns had to support the heavy ceilings.

Of course, the Snow Assassin simply noted these things objectively, no longer having the aesthetic sense he naturally had when he was born—before his characteristic family had a chance to raise him. Now he was basically a machine, not that he complained. After all, it was the key to his impeccable rate of success.

He reached several feet into the room and his presence up until then remained unnoticed, as always, without him having to exert much effort. He didn't even need to use _In_. He just walked around that lobby and looked, marvelled wasn't the right term, at the open lobby then in his full view.

He paused at a spot and tried to calculate the occupancy rate of the lobby. It was larger than the others he'd been to, and he absent-mindedly recalled his last mission. He was asked to kill someone in that room _while_ in a ball. It wasn't a challenge, but he imagined how all those nicely dressed people panicked when a person suddenly dropped down dead, missing his heart.

"Ano, can you please pass that to me?"

His eyes widened in surprise and immediately went to a defensive mode, whipping his head to somewhere behind him where the voice emitted from.

His eyes widened even more when he saw it was a girl. She had greenish black hair, creamy skin, and large auburn eyes—_exactly_ what that annoying Queen described the Princess he was supposed to kill. But he couldn't be sure for, for some reason, the Princess had _no_ portrait alone whatsoever around the house. It was all the Queen's or the late rulers.

Besides, what would a princess be doing there an inch away from the stained glass window that ordained majority of the walls? Let alone a yard above the ground with the very small adobe sill as the sole foot path?

"Excuse me…" She said again and he realized she was pointing at the bucket beside him. He blinked and absentmindedly lifted up to her direction.

She smiled and he found himself staring at her. The Snow Assassin would note that she had a pretty face. The colourful light due to the stained glass illuminating her face wasn't helping the gape of his that was lasting an extended amount of time, either.

"Thanks," she said after soaking the cloth again and he, again, blankly put it back to its original spot. It was only when he let go of the bucket that he realized the fact that she had been there all along—and that he didn't notice her at all!

He used gyo and realized she couldn't use nen… thus, knowing the former King and Queen were powerful Nen users, confirming this girl was not the princess. The fact that he was slightly relieved never reached his consciousness.

"What are you doing?" He asked, curious, as he watched her wipe the cloth over the colored glass which extended well above the tall walls. She was surprisingly lithe, managing to clean high places and not losing control of a single muscle during her movements.

"Cleaning the windows." She said and then he looked away when she further climbed up, using the bricks and the metal sashes to support her weight. The thin metal didn't buckle by a bit. It wasn't that she was light, he could hear it, but she was managing her weight impressively—a feat impossible for a normal person. He then heard a flop signalling she was down on the sill again and it was safe to look again. She jumped effortlessly down and smiled at him.

"You're new here, aren't you?" She smiled. "I'm surprised, but are you by some chance Luzviminda-san?"

"That's a girl's name."

"Hai." She chuckled, making a pretty shade of pink adorning her face. "But I just thought it was you—I wanted to meet you and I heard you had a job cleaning the windows. I wanted to help out."

"Why?"

"I heard you wanna be friends!" She grinned and his eyes widened. But before it lasted, he sighed in disapproval and, perhaps, amusement.

"You're assuming I'm Luzviminda aren't you?"

"Aren't you?"

"No."

"EEH?! I-I'm sorry!" She yelled and then cleared her throat to calm down, as if she was always reprimanded whenever she shouted. "I was just hoping so much to be friends with her. You have _no_ idea how rare it is to find someone your age to hang out with!" She paused and looked at him. "How old _are_ you?"

"Sixteen."

To his surprise, she beamed.

"Sugoi! My first time having a friend my age, and then Luzviminda-san surely will be one. I'll have two. Hehehe." She laughed (while doing her monologue) and Killua stared at her.

_Friend_

He wondered if it was just the phonemes that sounded good together. Why else did the word ring pleasantly inside his head?

In any case, he watched her stoically as she let out a grin pointed directly at him. She was about three feet away, but oddly, she felt very… warm.

He liked the feeling very much.

"So… what's your name?" She asked cordially, that grin never leaving her face.

He blinked and pondered. He had always been known as the Snow Assassin, even his family called him that now. But for reasons more than one… he didn't want her to call him that. Ever. So: "Killua", he said.

"My name is Killua."

…

Killua ended up cleaning the windows with her. He found out her name was Gon.

They were almost finished then, really, and Gon was as hyperactive as always. He wondered how a person could be so bright. "I'm sure she'll be very glad to see the windows all clean!" She hummed and he only nodded as he wiped another window clean. This was the first time he did so, and thankfully he hadn't broken anything… yet.

"Ne, Killua." She called, catching his attention. "What's your job here?"

"I'm a trainee guard." He said, assuming she was a servant. "I was asked to make myself familiar with the territory."

Her mouth made a cute 'o' and she smiled. "Want me to guide you?"

He blinked. It would hinder his effectiveness—given he was supposed to look for and assassinate someone, definitely. But in the end. He nodded in agreement.

"Great!"

'_Hmn…',_ he hummed internally.

He thought so, too.

**…**

They finished cleaning the windows with her noting she'd clean the floor later. She was disappointed that Luzviminda never came, but she found a new friend, and she was sure she'd meet Luzviminda some other time soon.

She walked happily with Killua along the corridors and chatted about some things. They were nearing the main house so it wasn't surprising to see the utter lack of people. "Where do you want to go first?" She asked, but when she turned to him—

He was already gone.

**…**

Killua frowned as he stealthily travelled across the shadows, passing by the guards he was supposed to encounter after a few seconds with Gon. He sprinted as far away from her as he could.

The trusting Gon. If he let her guide him, an outsider, across the palace and be seen… and then the princess suddenly died… who would be to blame?

He'd find that princess by himself, Killua said to himself. That Princess Antigone.

And yet his feet stopped by itself.

Anti_gon_e.

Gon.

His skin paled even more. And considering his skin was white, who would have thought it was possible?

**…**

Gon sniffed in disappointment when another one of her friends suddenly disappeared on her. She frowned and turned around when she the footsteps became near enough.

"Your highness." They said and bowed. She smiled at them and decided to ask about Killua. She was ready to ask, really, but she stopped herself. Perhaps he wanted to do it alone. So she held her tongue.

"Yes, princess?"

"Nothing." She smiled. "Carry on."

Gon sighed again and pouted. It seemed like she'd just clean the lobby floor now…

**…**

Killua, as soon as he neared the lobby, heard her sweet humming voice. His eager steps slowed down, knowing she was safe, and walked slowly to the lobby. There was so much he wanted to ask—what she was doing there, why she was cleaning, and why she wanted to be _friends_…

He couldn't move for a while, pondering what he should do. He had a job—and his target was right in front of him. And yet there was no will. Not that there ever was, but this was the first time after his first that he felt so reluctant. He gulped and he didn't know just how much the thought of her dying made him make such a sour face.

It was hard—even to just imagine it. The images made him lose energy to move. It was horrific.

He cursed.

He shook his head and willed himself to calm. He'd just have to ask her the questions and _then_ kill her. Maybe his curiosity was the only thing holding him back—that, perhaps, it was the only thing that was keeping _her_ alive.

That was what he probably hoped for… right?

"Gon." He said appearing behind her and she flinched in surprise, practically squealing. She stood up abruptly and turned to him. She forgot that the floor was wet though and—

_Hmph!_

They entered an embarrassing pose.

Really, he didn't even feel the slime behind him and he could only stare at the weight holding him down the floor.

They blushed simultaneously and sat apart. Killua, looking away, scratched his hair due to the odd type of agitation he was feeling. "So…you're the princess."

She turned to him. "You didn't know?"

He shook his head and stared at her questioningly. How was_ anyone_ supposed to know?

"Sorry."

"No, it's fine." He shrugged slowly looking at her but when he felt another blush coming he looked away again. "I want to know why you're doing a maid's job."

"Cuz' I wanna be of help and I happen to be good at it." She smiled proudly. "I'm a very efficient maid, mind you."

"Why do you think the Queen would want you dead, then?" He asked knowing all-too-well the classic motive behind them. But was that all? He wanted to know, especially with Gon. She stared at him in befuddlement.

"Eh?" She stared at his dead-serious expression and chuckled awkwardly. "Don't be silly, Killua. The Queen wouldn't want me dead."

"How can you be so sure?"

She stared him down, and for the first time he saw her frown. It made him freeze. "Because I know so. Stop implying bad things about the Queen."

He nodded slowly and looked away. She was too trusting. There was no way that he, a newcomer, would persuade her loving heart of otherwise. What could he do?

He didn't want to kill her without knowing, not that it mattered before.

No…, he didn't want to kill her. Period.

He never entered such a dilemma before, and he didn't know what to do. He knew what he didn't want, definitely, but he had always been taught of otherwise. He had always thought he'd be fine to kill anyone—so long as his family asked him to. But now?

The Snow Assassin was confused.

"Killua?" That chime-like voice called his name again. His name sounded nicer and nicer the more she called it. And the next thing he knew they were inches apart. He blushed even more furiously and wanted to look away but her hand made sure that was impossible.

Darn this princess and her boldness.

Killua tried to maintain the red (which appeared really really red against his snow white skin) to at least a faint shade of pink but it was in vain. What was the princess doing holding his cheek and making him stare at her for an extended period of time, anyway?

"Do you not like me anymore, Killua?" She asked. "Now that you know I'm a princess."

"W-Where did that come from?"

"You seemed weird when you look at me…" She paused and looked down sadly. That face made his chest flinch. "You looked almost… _disgusted_."

His eyes widened and he quickly composed himself. "I'm not." He paused. "No one would be able to, Gon."

She stared at him for a while before that familiar smile was there again.

He wished it could stay there forever.

But he had the job that he was told he was _born_ to do.

He needed to set his heart to do _something_, right?

* * *

Gon followed Killua as he led her to a balcony adjacent to the lobby. He held her hand, apparently to make sure she didn't slip—not that that'd happen again, given her reflexes, but she didn't disagree. Killua's cold hand against her warm ones felt nice. It felt really nice.

They stood there for a while, feeling the breeze and looked the sky turning orange. It was a nice sight and the town looked wonderful. She never went there before, she wasn't allowed to. She shrugged and decided not to question the Queen, which she was slowly starting to do.

Gon shook her head of the thoughts and shifted her mind to the skies. It would be dusk soon, she noted, and she wanted to watch the sunset with Killua. But when she paused to look at him, he looked serious and disturbed again.

"Killua?"

"What if I told you the Queen Bisuke asked me to kill you?"

"Eh?"

"I'm an assassin, Gon." He said with a face that told her he was not fooling around. He stepped closer and she stepped back. "What will you do now?"

"W-What are you—"

"I'm telling the truth Gon, please believe me."

"B-But I—" Gon shook her head. "Bisuke would never do that! Please don't confuse me Killua."

But he wasn't fooling around. And he could tell Gon would take a while to make up her mind—and she probably would think against him eventually.

And that moment, Killua wanted to ask her to run. Run as far away from this palace as possible. Run away, as much as it hurt, from _him_.

But before he could utter anything—something inside him _clicked_.

And his vision darkened.

**…**

Gon stared at him as the light was now lost in his eyes. She gulped when he coldly whipped his head to her direction. His eyes were so _empty_. She couldn't even see her friend there anymore.

She paled and stepped back again. She saw his foot gesture for a killing sprint and upon feeling the cold stone banister, she closed her eyes and pushed herself back—falling to the ground head first.

She managed to grab _something_ that she didn't have the time to know and managed to land safe and sound. She heard a thump and knew Killua did so, too. She ran and ran and soon reached the palace walls. She looked around and realized the palace guards were having rounds, but just happened to often miss this very spot. She gulped and looked up.

She closed her eyes and concentrated, climbing up the supposedly un-climbable wall with relative ease.

"Kya!" She let out as she fell down on the other side, barely grabbing a branch. She made a full 360 degree turn and let go, landing on an adjacent branch that could carry her whole weight. She jumped from tree to tree, something she honed when playing around (and trying to escape Mito and her books), and gestured to go to the town.

But he heard loud thumps and realized somehow Killua was cutting out the obstructions he couldn't avoid effortlessly and knew it was too dangerous to have the townspeople involved.

She ran, jumped, and ran again to the opposite direction, eventually catching sight of a Dark Forest up ahead. She had never been there before and was warned vehemently it was an accursed place. But she sucked it up and ran there, anyway.

Her first step into the terrifying forest she turned back and saw him. His pace had been slowing down, she noticed, and she found herself voicing out his name as she ran at an angle. "Killua." Before facing forward again and ran, once more, with all her strength.

She saw that he was sweating so much even with that stoic expression on his face. Gon wasn't sure if, inside, he was struggling. He looked like there was an inner war going on and she wanted to help. But she her instincts told her otherwise. So she ran and ran and thanked the heavens for her innate physical abilities.

That forest was terrifying. It was devoid of light, and not just because it was dusk, and _life_. Only remains of living beings—be they deer, bears, birds…, humans were seen and the trees were dead black in color—as if they were charcoal. The air was putrid and the ground was so slimy and it felt as if it was sucking her energy.

But thankfully, one of the (very) few things she absorbed from her studies was to avoid the spores growing out of a number of plants around—they were said to rouse terrifying illusions, drawing people to insanity. She looked behind again in worry and saw Killua accidentally hit one in his inner struggles. She gulped and ran to him the moment he yelled.

"L-Leave me alone!" He yelled to what seemed to be air. "I don't want to kill—" He screamed. "Leave me alone!" And randomly slashed trees with his knife-like hands and… _her_. Gon didn't realize she ran to him until she felt a sharp pain in her arms.

Gon shook away the scream and tried to ignore the pain. At least the spores didn't have effect on, perhaps because she had no real fears yet. Or maybe what she was seeing _was_ her feared. She ignored the blood starting to gush out of her appendage and tried to calm him.

But instead he pinned her to the ground. And she closed her eyes when he raised his arm to stab her. She heard a flop and his hand stabbed the ground an inch away from her face. She looked straight into his eyes and saw of his struggle—she was certain this time. He stabbed his other hand on the other spot adjacent to her head and he leaned down.

".._run_."

And she slid up, making his shoulders her leverage and did as she was told. Soon enough, Killua was running so quickly again. She ran and ran as well, she was starting to feel surprised at how far her limit was. She knew she could run fast—really fast—but perhaps this what what they called andrena-something Kurapika spoke of.

She ran and ran, desperately, to the light and hoped she saw after an abrupt turnaround, that the spores' effect on Killua had lessened as his pace went up again. She sprinted and gasped and almost stopped (no, she actually did) at what she saw. It was rich bountiful land, next to a small pond. What a juxtaposition it was with the Dark Forest.

"G-Gon!" She turned around and remembered she was on a run. And the next thing she knew Killua's sharp hand was already gesturing to attack her. But at one abrupt moment wherein she was utterly frozen—the hand turned around and—_slash—_stabbed its owner.

Her eyes widened and she found the scream stuck in her throat finally escaping.

"_**KILLUA!"**_

**…**

"Killua!" She yelled again and cried. She held his hand to keep it from getting any further in his body. Tears were already falling down her face as quickly as she was losing blood. She was panicking—everything was utterly out-of-control. But she tried to hold it up. She didn't want to give up.

"Killua." She called again and put in more strength—no matter how painful it was for her—into keeping him from stabbing himself further. She wanted Killua to show up again—this was just his body. She needed her friend back.

"Come back, Killua." She huffed. "Whatever is controlling you please hold firmly. Come back."

She knew she was reaching him, somehow, but she needed to do more. She needed more time to reach him. So without thinking, with one final pull, she made her body be his shield from his own hand the moment it went to stab its owner again.

And she used this time to call his name once more…

…and place a chaste kiss on his lips.

And with another click, whatever was controlling him—a conjured needle—slid out of his head.

But Killua would never be able to forget the next thing that he would see.

* * *

His eyes opened abruptly at what he felt like a bad dream. A sudden jolt of pain attacked his whole body making him cringe. But at a certain terrible recollection—everything seemed to go away and he sat up abruptly, his whole being filled with horror and panic.

"Don't force yourself, brat."

He blinked. It came from a man with raven hair and rounded sunglasses. A few more seconds of staring and he realised he was less than four feet tall.

"D-Dwarves?" He yelled out loud and saw there were around five others roaming around the small house he was in.

"We prefer to be called 'Chibis' brat!"

"Whatever!" He said, standing up, "Where is _she_?"

"The girl is fine, kid. She's playing outside with Chibisuka."

He flinched but didn't really absorb anything and ran outside. The dwarves tried to stop him but he glared at them._"I need to see her!"_ H exclaimed with a yell that used all energy inside his lungs, something he never did before, and personally he was shocked. Fortunately, the dwarves were as well.

He took the chance to continue moving, cursing his weak body for its current disability to move any quicker.

"O-Oi! Come back you freaking brat!" The same dwarf shouted as he ran after him. Killua realized he was the one who treated his wounds. "You have no idea how long it took me to bandage you!"

"Well, Chibioreo, it should be fine so long as he goes there _carefully_, yes?" Another one, whom he could make out to be the oldest, smiled and laughed light-heartedly.

He ignored everything and finally managed to run out the door, no longer noticing the sharp pain in his arm or the strain on his whole body. He ran outside and sharpened his hearing. Her distinct hum came to him a second later and he felt like he just threw away a truck he had been carrying since he fell asleep.

He immediately went to that direction and ignored the dwarves as they followed him. He went through some bushes and trees and was even hit by a few branches but his pace never wavered. Soon, he saw some more light and there she was—sitting right next to a lake, playing with animals, particularly with a foxbear cub.

She was laughing so merrily and how beautifully it resounded across the place. Her dress was tattered a lot thinner now, with some layers taken off already.

Later, some dwarf that looked like a clown with red hair and white make-up appeared. Killua didn't see him earlier since her figure blocked him. He was then playing around with cards and after some trick he'd rather not absorb she was clapping her hand in happiness and awe.

Animals making her giggle was one thing, a creepy dwarf doing the same thing was another.

He frowned and then walked towards them and as always, his presence hidden automatically. His ears twitched when he saw the dwarf smile at her creepily. "You're cute~"

Gon smiled. "You too."

"Wanna hug?" The clown-dwarf said, grinning, and Gon only blinked before extending her hand—much to his dismay.

"Eh? Okay…"

Killua jumped and tried to air-kick the orange-headed dwarf but he managed to dodge. "Impressive." He said with the creepily shrill voice of his.

The small bastard smiled at Gon and then Killua glared at the pedo-dwarf before looking at the others that arrived. He put himself between them and Gon, just before increasing the intensity of his glare. "Who _are you_ people?!"

But to his surprise, as if waiting for it as cue, like it was a custom of sorts—they lined up in front of him and introduced themselves.

"They're Chibis." Gon smiled as they did so and Killua shook his head.

"No, they're _dwarves._"

"Oi, brat!" Chibioreo yelled again, as grumpy as always. "We are Chibis! 'Dwarves' is no longer a politically correct term you oblivious brat!"

His eye twitched. "…ha?"

"Anyway," The oldest one intervened and laughed again. He liked laughing didn't he? "My name is Chibitero."

"Chiburitsu." One with brunette hair and balding head smiled.

Then came a yawn and a pink-headed girl-dwarf. "Chibimachi." Followed by a largely obese dwarf next to her.

"Chibuhara."

"Chibimorel—_hachoo!_" Came next, from a dwarf with a large pipe which he used after he sneezed. The last one didn't speak for a second and gritted his teeth. The others turned their heads to him and some frowned as he was breaking the gloriousness of their practices. Soon enough, he had to succumb, albeit the grumpiness was still there.

"Chibioreo."

"Chibisuka~" The last one introduced immediately afterwards. And… winked at Gon. Killua seriously wanted to kick him. They ignored whatever he was emitting and freaking _posed_.

"We're the dwarves!" They yelled in chorus. "Pleasure to make your acquaintances!"

.  
.

**The Snow Assassin and the Princess  
Part 2 of 3  
End!**

* * *

...

* * *

Thank you for reading!

Hope you enjoyed and it would be so awesome if your write something on this beautiful box below. xD


	5. The Snow Assassin and the Princess III

**Disclaimer: **I WISH I own Hunter X Hunter and the tale of Snow White.

**Author: **Nispedana  
**Fairy Tale: **Snow White  
**Genre/Rating: **Romance, Friendship**, **Fantasy **/ **K+  
**WARNINGS: **VERY long and I compressed the rest of the events. Hence, try not to skip too many lines, ne? xD  
Plus it will be long so I will put in _A/Ns in the middle_ this time.

**A/N: ** Finally watched Snow White and the Huntsman! It was nice, esp. compared to 'Mirror Mirror'. A lot of elements I added in this chap were inspired by that movie. Ah~ Hope by now you have an idea at how I used Nen in the story.

**AD**: I used a _lot_ of things I reserved for 'Entwined' (another fem! Gon story) *wink* If you're liking this, you may like that one too! A hug if you take a look. xD (Of course I'd advertise, I have an image!).

Anyway, hope you enjoy and please don't hesitate to leave some feedback!

* * *

**The Snow Assassin and the Princess  
****Part 3 of 3**

* * *

Killua ignored his upcoming sweat-drop and urge to kick that Chibisoka person and finally turned his head to her directly, slightly reluctant because of the bad dream that night.

"K-Killua." Gon grinned, glad to see him. He did, too, and with that smile he forgot about the clown-dwarf's presence altogether. He kneeled down beside her and marvelled her healthy face—absorbing every bit of it—in contrast to the last thing he saw, which now he thought (or hoped, rather) was just a bad dream.

His body moved on its own afterwards.

He didn't realize what he was doing a second later until they were already entwined. But he didn't regret it. Besides, she hugged him back. But as they separated, his hand accidentally touched the lower part of her back and she flinched in pain.

His eyes widened.

What he did yesterday wasn't a dream, wasn't it?

"G-Gon!" Killua yelled in panic. "T-The wound…!"

"Calm down Killua." She smiled patting his neck. "I'm fine. The Chibis said I healed at an unbelievable rate."

"Indeed. Hohoho~" Chibinetero agreed. "The stab was fatal for normal people, though." His heart stopped, and Gon, seeing this only pouted and nagged the dwarf.

"But I'm not other people. See? I'm outside playing around!" She said. "Besides, I was the one who put myself into harm's way."

"B-But I…" Killua almost squeaked, losing will to hold her. He kneeled up again, gesturing to stand up. He didn't deserve this kindness. "I don't—"

"Don't you dare leave me Killua!" She said without moving. And his eyes widened, but he closed his eyes and turned around. She tried to stand up to go after him but she yelled at a sudden jolt of pain. He quickly dropped down to her level to help her sit back properly.

"She might have inhuman healing powers but it was still, again, a lethal shot. She can't exactly move much, hoho~" The old dwarf said, but his smile quickly turned to one of dead-seriousness. "So _behave_, boy."

And Killua only sat there eyes full of guilt.

Gon sighed in understanding and looked around. The dwarves and animals (some even had names, namely: Gonta, Kinta, and Nisp) nodded and they left her and Killua alone for a while. "I'm so sorry." Killua said, finally, after a long moment of silence.

"It's fine."

"No, it's not!" He answered vehemently.

"Who are you to say so, then?" She snapped back, and Killua found himself unable to speak. His long silver bangs didn't help hiding his flustered face.

"I don't mind Killua. You're my friend—still are. Besides, I saw it. You didn't want to kill me, right?" She smiled and then he recalled that distinct moment when he felt… free. He cringed when the very next image to that memory was Gon's bloodied and suffering face.

He couldn't help but associate her misfortune to her contact with hi—

_Slap!_

He blinked and touched his cheek, feeling a sharp sting. "W-What was that?" He asked Gon and she only pouted.

"That's for thinking of annoying things again." She said. "And see? I hurt you. We're fair."

And what could the Snow Assassin do to counter that?

…

Killua and Gon just sat there and stared at the lake for a while without speaking, but it wasn't as awkward anymore. Killua thought feeling guilty and such wouldn't do them any good. He'd just have to make up to it… somehow.

Hence instead of apologizing, he mused he just had a lot to thank her for. "Thanks for saving me."

"It was worth it." She smiled, pondered, and realized just how much of an understatement her deeds for him were. She saved his life in so many ways than one. He knew that now.

"That Nen needle." He said, wanting her to know all about it. "It was my brother's."

"…eh?"

"You helped me take it out." He smiled. "Thanks for that as well."

"What did I do?"

He chuckled, and then to the fact he'd have to go straight to the point with her. "I'm no longer forced to kill you now."

Gon blinked at him but then ended up smiling. "That's great!"

"Uh-huh."

Some moments of silence passed by them again, with him trying to think of a good topic. Gon, his trained eyes could tell, was in great pain and was unable to think properly herself. She was using all her energy not to make him worry.

Speaking of which, he didn't know how and why she had such healing abilities—but he thanked the heavens for it. He asked her what she thought about it and she smiled, saying Chininetero was a knowledgable old man.

"It seemed my aura's like that—it was contained within me for some reason and it gave me unusual healing and physical abilities." She smiled. "It would have been awesome if I had the usual—things would be so much less complicated."

"Yeah but then that queen would have wanted you dead earlier. Besides, you have Nen after all albeit a different one. Who is to say you can't rule with that kind?" She looked at him. But now she understood he was telling the truth. There was no way he was lying. Besides, Kurapika and Mito-san even pointed it out often—that Bisuke was a suspicious entity.

_Kurapika… Mito-san... and the others_. Gon immediately slumped. "They must all be so worried."

"But better worried than mourning." Killua said. "She might hire my brother or father to kill you. You need to stay here." He looked down, and involuntarily recalled those images he had in the forest. The repressed memories roused back up—his brother putting that nen needle on his head…

He didn't know how Gon helped him get rid of it but at the moment he couldn't thank her enough, so he couldn't thank her at all. And instead, he held her hand.

"I'm _certain _the queen will send some other powerful people to go after you. I promise I will protect you and give you back to your loved ones."

"Eh?" She stared at him, knowing he had a job to do. "Why?"

Killua smirked. "We're friends, aren't we?"

And Gon flushed, just before she could grin in agreement.

**…**

"If I were to go against my brother, I may be able to take him."

Somehow the conversation shifted to there.

"If it's my dad or grandfather, we'll need to come up with a strategy." He said after a few moments or so, just for the heck of it. Killua also wanted to ask where they were at but he couldn't find himself asking about things that were not about her.

He had to admit he was, even with all their efforts, still incredibly… _worried_. It was all new to him. He recalled the image of him killing her and he shivered. Thankfully her attention went elsewhere, to the forest, where he saw the foxbear trio was hiding.

"Gonta, Kinta, and Nisp." She called out and they slowly went out of the bushes. They were like stairs in size, with Gonta the largest and Nisp the tiniest. Speaking of which…

"Why Nisp?"

"Dunno." Gon shrugged. "Chibinetero just said 'it came to him'. Besides it's a cute name, anyway."

"…ah."

The three foxbears went to them and she petted each one, the smallest one even came to him and urged him to do the same. He had to admit, the three foxbears of all sizes were pretty cute.

_Cute_

He never did quite feel comfortable with thinking of anything as cute before, he mused and found his eyes looking at the beaming Gon. He had to admit he thought she was… cute that time during their first meeting. But it didn't quite seem fitting now...

She was more than cute? _Perhaps_.

But soon, he realized Gon started looking a bit pale probably from all the moving around with the bears. "Do you want to go inside now?" Killua asked anxiously and she could only smile in assent. Killua gulped and stood up, and Gon watched him in puzzlement. Her eyes went slightly wide when Killua leaned down and... carried her like a bride.

"A-Ano…" Gon stuttered in embarrassment. "You don't need to do this…"

"But it's quicker this way, right?" He said and took a few steps. It was all he could do for her at the moment, he mused, and interestingly the bears followed them loyally. Besides, Gon's cheek was wearing that lovely shade of pink again. He wanted to keep seeing it.

"But…"

"At least let me do this." Killua said firmly and Gon ended up gaping at him. She looked down, almost looking away from him and said: "Okay".

Eventually they reached the hut and he realized just how small the door was. He had to lean down and be more careful in moving to enter. She put her down (with a slight disappointed feeling in his gut) on the bench beside the dining table. The dwarf with pink hair yawned (she was sleeping somewhere near) and stood up, lazily giving water to Gon.

"Ah. Thanks Chibimenchi." She said and the pink-headed dwarf went back, after drinking a few gulps of alcohol, to sleep.

Soon enough, the dwarves were also around some checking up on his Gon. "Ne…" He looked around as calmly as he could, seeing it was finally time to ask. "Where are we, then?"

"One of the only sanctuaries left since to rise of the new Queen." He paused and Killua looked at Gon. She seemed sad and she probably already asked this before. "The Forest of the Fairies."

He could see Gon's eyes twinkling during the first time she heard that. "Fairies?!" He imagined she would say enthusiastically but he looked at her and she didn't look that joyful. She caught his stare and smiled.

"No fairies anymore, though."

"Oh."

"When the new Queen rose to the throne a lot of things were lost." Chibioreo mumbled. "A lot of homes destroyed."

"I'm sorry…"

"Why are you apologizing, Miss?" The smallest, Chibiritsu, asked sweetly as he rest her hand on the bench Gon was sitting on. She was especially small for a dwarf, and let out a sweet aura around her. Gon found herself slightly relaxing.

"Because I—" Killua's eyes widened and he quickly covered her mouth. Everyone stared at him, including Gon, making Killua sigh mentally in despair. She, the princess, was being _hunted—_couldn't she see the dangers?

Chibiritsu, being the closest one to them, tilted her head. "Ara…?"

"She just likes to apologize!" Killua yelled, but then they heard a small 'Ah' of realization not too far away.

"Ne…" it was the (horizontally) largest dwarf. "I *nom* heard *nom* about you *nom*." Chibuhara, noted as he chewed shifting all attention to him. "Now that *nom* I remember. You're *nom* the Snow Assassin."

They all stared at him in bemusement. Gon was no exception. He did not want her to hear that. She looked at him questioningly, but he realized it was mostly curiosity. Killua felt relieved at that… after all, she already saw him try to take her life before.

One dwarf though, appeared out of nowhere, reacting oppositely. It was Chibioreo and he narrowed his eyes, making his spiky hair a little more intimidating. "Just who _are_ you two?"

A sneeze from behind took their attention. It was the dwarf with the large pipe. Killua soon realized that the pipe was to keep him from incessantly sneezing. He had sunglasses like Chibioreo, though, and they wondered if it was a dwarf thing.

Chibuhara kept eating as he watched what the discussion of what he seemed to have caused, Chibiritsu was the same albeit she silently cared a lot more. Chibimenchi was sleeping through the whole thing. And Chibisuka, aside from occasionally smiling at Gon, was watching in interest.

It was Chibinetero that broke the silence with his trademark laugh. Everyone stared at him and wondered why the hell he was laughing _this_ time. "It's just so interesting to see you two get along so well is all."

"Why, old man? Did you know my job?"

"You were probably asked to kill her, right?"

"Eh?" Chibiritsu exclaimed and then looked at Gon with her usual calm yet worried face. "Why would anyone want to kill you, miss?"

Chibisoka nodded. "Such a pretty fruit should not be harmed." And, again, Killua wanted to kick him. And with that lethal card and his positioning nearby the two of them, looks like he'd be able to do just that.

"She's the kingdom's princess, folks." Chibinetero announced. Chibisuka and Chibimorel gaped, Chibuhara stopped eating, Chibimenchi's eyes opened awake, while Chibioreo was the one who yelled a very loud "Whaaaaat?!".

The people with strong hearing would have their ears ringing for several minutes afterwards.

**…**

Killua was now surrounded by five dwarves, understandably, in were in a defensive stance against him. Gon obviously tried to stand up but Chibimenchi, who was miraculously awake and was _not_ drinking (the greatest miracle that day), asked her to sit back down. The five showed off impressive Nen and Killua showed his.

"Impressive aura, kid. But dwarves—I mean, Chibis—are more inept with Nen than humans are." Chibioreo said haughtily and Chibisoka even let out some cards that might seem harmless, but to the trained eyes it was obviously 10 times sharper than a typical knife.

Chibinetero laughed again as if he wasn't the one who told the revelation. "Whoa, there kiddes." He smiled. "How do you think the princess got here—to_ us_?"

Chibioreo frowned. "Weren't you two—" He looked at Chibimenchi who was walking to them. "—the ones who brought them in?"

"Yes, but we found the Snow Assa—"

"His name is Killua." Gon corrected firmly, making everyone stare at her. Killua's heart skipped a beat again that time.

"Yes,_ Killua_," The old dwarf corrected and continued, "…who was walking around in panic—barely alive himself, and looking for someone who could help the princess." He paused, and knowing him, it was probably for effect. "Of course, he was the one who inflicted the injury, considering his bloodied hand, but something told me it wasn't on purpose."

"Hai! I put myself into harm's way." Gon said almost standing up (again to be gently pushed down back to sitting). "He didn't want to kill me—but the Queen…she hired him to do so." Killua's eyes widened even more and so did everyone else's.

"_OH_." Chibinetero said and looked at Chibimenchi and then to Chibuhara, who was then eating again… but… he was shaking. "What would you two say about this?"

"I'm… not surprised." Chibimenchi said and put her bottle of alcohol down. Chibuhara nodded in agreement. The other dwarves, and the humans, had no idea what to make of the conversation.

"Why ask them?"

"We served as royal cooks—two of the bests the palace ever seen." Chibimenchi said straight-to-the-point as if she was drunk, like usual, and she _was_. "But that woman climbed up the throne and laid us off—_hic...!_—Well, that was the plan. But since we were _too_ good and she was new—she just framed us for trying to 'poison' her."

Chibuhara looked down. "We had to run." He muttered quietly, and proceeded to munch his chicken.

"Thought it was because she only wanted pretty servants—which was true—but I realized itwas also because we could be a threat, nen-wise." Chibimenchi continued soberly and looked at the princess. "I knew I saw you before. But I… never thought I'd see you, the princess, again."

Chibuhara, after placing the chicken bone somewhere, intervened at another recollection. "Ne, Chibiretsu," he paused. "Didn't you *nooom* become an apprentice there, too?"

"Hai. I left a year after you two did though."

"Ano…" Gon voiced out, having a little hard time following, but she tried her best. So three of the dwarves had been working in the palace before?

_She wondered what it was like…_

"Hmn?"

"What was it like…? I mean when my parents still ruled."

It was Chibiritsu who answered, and smiled at a recollection. "Perfect."

She looked at the other two and then back to the princess. "The Queen… she had always had a suspicious heart beat." She whispered in ponder. "I didn't think she'd sent to have you killed though." She paused. "Like most people, she once had a good heart."

"That was ages ago, probably." Killua intervened. "I heard she looked 16, 16 years ago."

There was a slight clack again and they saw it was caused by Chibimenchi's bottle. "Now that I think about it…" She hiccupped and thought very deeply for a minute or so. "That midwife and the Queen had similar hair and eye color. The auras are identical too."

"What are you implying Chibimenchi?"

"I'm saying…" She looked drunk, really, but they didn't doubt her words."…that it was the Queen Bisuke who could have caused _both_ of your parents' deaths."

* * *

**Bookmark 1: **hahah. So we're probably 29% there! Lol. If you want to take a break, feel free to do so. Just press CTRL+F and write down bookmark 1 to get back to this very paragraph.

* * *

CENTRAL PALACE

Meanwhile, everyone in the castle was in a state of panic. Bisuke ordered everyone, including her own guards, to go and search the palace and nearby towns for the missing princess. As soon as she was alone, she asked her mirror if the job was done.

And as she feared—it was not. "I'm disappointed." She said, feeling another conspicuous presence and turned to it. "_Very_ disappointed."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, then." The person said stoically, emerging from the shadows. He had long and silky ebony-colored hair that she recognized very well—albeit the last time she saw it, it was neatly cut shoulder length.

"I need this job done." She said and the man only shook his head. "Why? Your reputation will be tainted now. You did not have much trouble with Ging—I don't see why his daughter, incapable of using Nen, would be much of a problem—"

The door abruptly opened and Kurapika appeared. Bisuke blinked and realized the Zoldyck was nowhere in sight. She was impressed.

"Where's Gon?"

"How would I know, Kurapika-san?" Bisuke said sweetly but to her surprise the boy's eyes turned red. It was the first time she saw of it, and she now knew why it sold so strongly. She feigned terror, which in fact wasn't entirely fake.

"You're the only one who could have the motive to get rid of her." He growled and stepped closer, being halted by the guards finally arriving to contain him. The ones stationed seemed to have passed out already. And like those ones, the soldiers currently containing him were of no match.

He elbowed one, kicked another, and punched the last two. He glared at her again. "Where _is_ she?"

"Like I said, I have no idea." She said firmly. "It is rude of you to say that to your Queen. Do you want to be beheaded Kurapika?" It was true. It was uncharacteristic of him to attack her like that. Unless he, being in-charge of the search parties, found no trace and had no idea where she could be.

The normally cool young scholar got desperate.

And Bisuke always knew what to do with desperate people.

She smiled at him, making him flinch a little. She clicked her fingers and called for more guards. Kurapika, naturally, went into battle pose but she asked everyone to calm. "We already sent a search party, headed by you, if I recall.

"I didn't expect you to lose hope so easily—to the point of assuming I have something to do with it." She paused and recalled what the long-haired Zoldyck said. She knew if they were so easily found, the Zoldyck would have found them already. There was only one place where such skilled people could be rendered useless.

"Have you tried the Dark Forest?" She smiled as his eyes went wide. He was probably thinking if Gon went in there, she might never be found again—it made the lad look obviously distressed.

"Might as well, right?"

**…**

Kurapika didn't bother thanking her for her 'graciousness' and turned around to ready himself and the assigned soldiers for their venture to the Dark Forest. No doubt there would be a bit of preparations. Soon enough, she was alone in the large empty Royal Court once more. And the Zoldyck came out of his hiding.

"He was a Kuruta wasn't he?"

"Hmn." She nodded. Interesting set of eyes. No wonder the Spiders wanted their eyes."

"I'm surprised someone survived." The other nodded nonchalantly and shrugged. "Anyway, I do think they went through the dark forest."

"So your brother could have killed her there but the spores may have gotten to him?"

"Perhaps." The man said and looked far away. "But I put a needle in his head. It will force him to kill in case he would doubt. I never thought it would actually be needed." He paused darkly, his empty orbs seemed to be sucking everything else. "And it failed."

Bisuke stared at him and waited.

"Your princess was a lot more charming than you said." That made her frown.

"I don't see where this is going."

"My brother went free because of this job, and as much as I wanted to intervene—Father said to leave him alone."

"…what?"

"We're dropping this job." He said firmly with his monotonous voice. "Good day, your highness."

Bisuke's eyes widened. "O-Oi!"

But he was already gone.

**…**

"Damn." Bisuke walked to and fro the corners of the royal court. She was, once again, alone (she should really just fire them since they're all useless anyway). "Where _is_ she?!"

"Mirror, mirror." She called out and that face formed once again in a showy way as usual. But it was getting annoying—this slowness of formation. "Hurry up."

"Patience, Sire." He paused. "For even if you sing, the rain will not stop any sooner."

Her eyes twitched.

"Moving forward—the one you seek is with eight powerful beings, seven of which are not human but spiritually more powerful. One is a tamed lion, who now has no other purpose than to protect the flower you sought to kill."

"Seven dwarves?" She paused. "And the Snow Assassin?"

"That is correct."

Bisuke paused in annoyance, but willed herself to calm. She could not go against them head on. She needed to plan something else. She looked once more at her mirror—this time at herself, as she mused.

She needed to succeed. Immortality—such a temptation.

Temptations.

Bisuke smirked.

* * *

Back in the Sacred Forest, a few of the dwarves were moving back and forth with their little feet as they came up with a plan for their next move. Killua was joining in the noise with unconsciously tapping his feet, while Gon's ears surprisingly were not absorbing any of them. She was too agitated.

"But what will I do?" She frowned. "I do not have Nen like the previous rulers. I cannot rule by myself." It was her reply to their suggestion to take the throne. She disagreed with violence when it was needed, but they said it could be necessary. She blinked at a recollection. "Well, I did propose to someone who can."

Killua's eyes twitched. "You _what_?"

"I do not think you need to do that. Ho-ho." Chibinetero, with his experienced senses, intervened immediately before it turned into a hormone-filled fight. "Your Nen may be different but it is Nen nevertheless.

"I see a good Queen in you, princess."

Gon smiled sadly, wanting so much to believe them. It was not easy, she grew up not thinking that way.

"In any case, I suggest you stay here in the mean time, princess." Chibinetero offered and also looked at Killua, saying to him he could also stay. "It is a safe place—a sanctuary for what was left of nature's rarest species. The fairies had entered a slumber, as well as other sacred creatures. But nevertheless—"

But Chibiritsu made a demure exclamation as if remembering something. "Maybe…"

"What is it Chibiretsu?"

"I want to show the princess something." She said. "May I?"

"Princess?"

"Okay."

"I'll carry you." Killua said, wanting to be of help and, well, carry her again. Gon blushed cutely and Killua found a smirk on his face along with an even deeper blush. "Well, can I?"

"…I guess."

It was a tad awkward at first but a few yards from the hut's door, they were basically playing around already. It started when Killua spun by accident making Gon laugh, and ended up doing it until they were both dizzy. Chibiretsu could only laugh heartily as she watched and listened in that beautiful mixture of laughs and heart beats.

The humans followed the calm dwarf deeper and deeper the forest. They chatted a bit as they walked, with Gon eventually asking how was her stay in the palace.

"It was great. The people were nice and gentle with me." She said and looked down on her flute. "I was an apprentice entertainer then." She smiled and her eyes softened even more. She was a gentle creature, anyone would conclude easily. "I even made a few friends."

Eventually, they saw more light and the kids gasped at what they saw. "Looks like we're here." The dwarf said, knowing it was no longer necessary.

They were now in a field of flowers. Without thinking Killua quickly stepped in and Gon so wished she could run around. Their ears perked when they heard beautiful and clear music beside them. It was actually Chibiritsu, playing her silver flute. A few more animals, about double of the animals that were following them (or Gon, to be precise), appeared around them without a hint of hostility surrounding them. Gon found herself laughing even more. And Killua had a pleasant good look at her. He was glad they made this trip.

It was very light and pretty then, as if they were in heaven. Chibiritsu's playing added to that feeling significantly. But then something heavy attacked their senses, but they didn't put their guards up. It was not a hostile presence—but a _big_ one nevertheless.

"P-Put me down please." Gon said and Killua shook his head. "Please."

"W-Why?"

"I don't know." She said calmly, but she said it with firmness anyway. Killua gently put her down but held her arm by instinct. It was then a gust of wind passed by them, carrying leaves of different colors coming from the surrounding forests. Their eyes followed it, and their sights halted at a beautiful white creature none of them had seen before.

It was a unicorn—pure and magnificent beyond words. But somehow, despite never meeting one before, Gon felt shaken. Chibiristu also felt an odd sense of de ja vu.

The creature reminded her of _someone_, and in Gon's case she just… knew.

"The late King." Chibiristu said and Gon nodded. It was strange as she only knew her father by the stories and the paintings.

And then more music echoed across the forest and they blinked when they realized Chibiretsu was no longer playing her flute. They looked around to where it came from and soon chime-like giggles resonated with the music of unknown origin.

Chibiritsu gasped. "….fairies!"

The fairies flew together making a dynamic form and helping Gon walk by herself. Soon they realized they were helping her go to the unicorn. She stood straight in front of it and they stared into each other's eyes for a while. The unicorn moved at a soothingly slow pace. It was so graceful and kind and it moved its head so that they were forehead to forehead.

"What happened to you?" Gon asked and the unicorn answered without any sound. Gon smiled sadly at it and petted its head.

"I understand." She said. "It's nice to finally meet you. I wish we can meet again soon." Her voice cracked a bit, but the happiness on Gon's face was still undeniable.

And they knew the unicorn felt the same way.

…

The three weren't quite sure what happened afterwards. But when the unicorn disappeared with a gentle yet blinding light, Gon was crying so much. For a moment there they thought she'd be overflowing with aura, but it was the same.

"Is everything alright? Are you hurt?"

"No."

"Why are you crying?"

She smiled at them and wiped her tears away. "He said I'll make a great Queen."

**…**

It was a celebration that night at the Chibis' hut. Gon helped with cooking, much to their surprise, and she could only laugh it off—saying she was fond of house chores.

"When I met her she was cleaning windows." Killua even added and they all laughed, even the usually-grumpy Chibioreo. It was a merry noon, and everyone had a blast. They didn't even think of their suspicions about the soon-to-be previous Queen for a while. They wanted to focus on hailing their new one.

But then—_SCREEEEEECH__**—**_a screeching noise came from far away and they, given their strong hearing, cringed down at the utter discomfort it caused.

"W-What was that?" Gon asked, especially affected by the noise. She had a sudden head-ache and she could only massage her head to ease it.

"I have a bad feeling about this…"

"Let's check it out."

"Hmn."

"Killua—stay here with her."

Killua nodded. And it didn't take long for them to take on a formation and exit the door. Gon forced herself to ignore her ringing ears and yelled: "Be careful, everyone!"

They smiled. "Of course, princess."

The gang was easily out of sight hence Gon and Killua could only stay there and pray. She had a really, really, bad feeling about this and it showed. She realized she was shivering when Killua's cold hand touched hers. "Only my hand's supposed to be cold, Gon." He smiled reassuredly. "They're strong, no need to worry about them."

They heard another of the noise, but farther away. And then another, about a few minutes later, even further. They stayed there under slight tension for an hour, and yet there was no sign of the dwarves.

"Killua…" She said and Killua breathed out and stood up. He didn't know why, but he ended up kissing her forehead. "They'll be fine."

But then a similar screeching noise emitted from nearby and Killua flinched immediately, standing up. It got louder and Killua's eyes widened in shock and whipped his head to Gon and stared at her firmly.

"Stay here."

"But—"

And before she could utter any more, he already left.

…

Gon gulped and waited for 1 whole torturous minute. There was no more noise but Killua had yet to return. She flinched when someone knocked on the back door and she willed herself to stand up immediately.

It was an old woman with familiar pink eyes but dull gray hair. She looked more than a hundred years old, and she looked very weak. "…help."

Gon's eyes widened and she helped the old woman walk to the interior of the house even with the pain in her own body. "How may I help you, grandma?"

"Please h-hide m-me." She sobbed quietly with her croaky voice. "Something's outside." Gon flinched immediately and she looked at the outside worriedly. "I... I saw a few dwarves and a boy… with silver hair."

"W-What happened to them?"

"I saw them stuck, hidden in random places from this creature I do n-not dare describe."

Gon found herself sighing in relief. She smiled at the old woman. "Okay. Do you need some water?"

"T-Thank you."

And when Gon gave her the glass, the old woman slowly took something from inside of her robe. It was an apple. "Have this in exchange please." The woman croaked as she gasped for air. "I was saving it in my travels for a source of water, but I already got one."

"Oh no, I can't take this grandma!" She smiled kindly, and the old woman's eyes genuinely looked startled. "This is for you. So you can return home to your family safe and sound."

She smiled brightly, despite the fear in her heart for the others. There was no reason to make the woman guilty of intruding, right? But before she knew it, the old woman cried.

"E-Eh? Why are you crying grandma?" Gon looked around in the hope_ something_ will help her comfort the woman. "Uhm…"

"I no longer have a family." The old woman stated shakily, making Gon gape at her. "I travel around aimlessly."

Gon's eyes widened and she paled, feeling very guilty for making the poor woman remember her sorrow. She looked around again, and for some reason the vivid images of those kind chibis running around happily together played against the background she was ogling at. A second later, it finally hit her.

"I'll ask the chibis to take you in!" She grinned. "I'm sure they'd be happy to help."

"Chibis?"

"A politically correct term for dwarves."

"O-Oh…" The woman uttered but Gon couldn't tell what she was feeling. Eventually, the old woman let a few of her wrinkles creep up for a pretty smile. "Thank you, child, but how can I intrude like that?"

"They're kind folks. They helped me and my friend out a lot."

"How can you be so confident?"

"I can't imagine them not considering it deeply. I don't think they'll allow you to wonder around." She smiled. "No one should be alone, right?"

The woman was silent and she looked down. Gon could no longer see her face, and without lifting her head—the old woman offered, once again, the blood-red apple she wanted to give her before.

"For y-your kindness." She paused. "Please. Take it."

Gon's eyes softened, and knew that normally in this type of situation—it would be rude to refuse.

So she did. And she even took a big bite to show her acceptance.

**…**

_Doki_

Killua whipped his head towards the direction of the hut. His chest couldn't stop pounding when the noises resounded—but it didn't compare to what he felt _now_.

"Gon." He said, and sprinted to the house. He wasn't able to take three steps when the chibis arrived, looking distraught and utterly shocked to see him there.

"Oi, Snow Assassin! _What are you doing here?_!"

He didn't answer and continued his way to the hut. He could hear Chibioreo cursing in panic as they did the same. "Damn!" He yelled. "It was a diversion. A Trap! _How could we fall for it?!_"

Everyone else was silent, trying their best to get back to the hut as soon as possible.

_**BAM!**_

The door opened and they went in, only to find—in their utter despair—the beloved princess lying cold on the wooden floor. They were all frozen and Chibiritsu was the only one who had the slightest bit of strength to go to her body. She was crying.

"No heartbeat…" She sobbed. "None."

"NO."

"Damn it!"

Then a creak coming from the back door took a tad bit of their attention—but it was enough to keep them sane for a little more while. They would make sure that whoever did this would pay.

"We'll look for the culprit!" Chibimenchi yelled at Killua, everyone else was gone. "Protect the princess, Snow Assassin!"

And just like that—they were alone again in the hut.

Killua's feet finally gave in and he sat there in shock as he stared at her lifeless body. _She was so alive_, just moments prior. He could still see her face, her smile, her beams…

_Gon_

Killua wanted to touch her. He truly did.

But he no longer had the right to.

**…**

**…**

In the end, the only time Killua had the strength to touch her was when he had to put her on the bed. He sat there, on the wooden chair. He noticed another presence there a little too late.

"Hello little brother."

He abruptly stood up causing the chair to fall down. He momentarily looked at Gon, as if she was going to wake, but his heart would only clench again at the reconfirmation of the fact she would never open her bright eyes again.

"W-What are you doing here?" He growled and allowed his protective aura to show. And _how_?

"Calm down, brother." Illumi said and soon afterwards Chibisoka came out of the shadows.

"You!" Killua glared. Why would he help an assassin find Gon? Wasn't Chibisoka attracted to her, too?

"Hello~!" He said quietly. "And no, I am not a traitor. I had a debt to pay, and I know he doesn't plan to hurt the princess—" He paused darkly. "Not that it's possible."

Illumi sighed and continued, maintaining that monotonous tone of his. "I came here not to kill the princess, who seemed to be already dead, but to tell you the royal army and her, how should I say this—bethroned person, is on their way." Killua froze. "I suggest you keep your distance… and go back home."

Killua narrowed his eyes at them and turned his head once again to Gon. She may have passed away, but he didn't—_couldn't_—part with her. Not yet.

"Killua." Someone called, catching his attention. Primarily because he now associated the name to Gon and the dwarves. In the end, it was just his brother. He only stared at him as he continued. "Didn't you know?

"Our family was the one _hired _by Bisuke to kill her _father_."

* * *

**BOOKMARK 2.** And the final one. Again, you can easily get back to this spot by writing the bookmark number in the text box that will appear after you press CTRL + F. Btw, I'm not boring you to death am I? (*.*)

* * *

Kurapika and his men stared at the setting in awe. It was a beautiful place, even more beautiful than the lush forests near the capitol. And the fact that they just went through the dark forest just emphasized its beauty further.

_The Dark Forest_, he mused and looked at his men. It was surprising, he warned them already about the spores but with such a dense group it was nearly impossible to save everyone. In the end, too many attacked the rest—caused by illusions of the others being monsters. He lost precisely a dozen men.

He lifted his hand and let his men rest and drink at the lake, after checking it. But they weren't given much time to breathe. He—all too soon—felt strong presences approaching their direction—fast. He let his guard up and yelled at his oblivious soldiers to do the same.

He quickly took several steps to the direction and let out his aura. Soon lithe figures appeared in the forest, obviously ready for an attack. But in an instant a few of them hesitated and everyone else stopped. He counted there were six of them.

"K-Kurapika!" He blinked and realized who half of them were.

"Senritsu!" He said, immediately lowering his guard. He looked at the dwarves beside her. "Machi and Buhara?" He gulped and immediately asked what he needed to. Frankly, seeing familiar faces around made him feel slightly better.

"I am looking for the princess. She has greenish black ha—"

"We know." Senritsu cut him off. "We met her."

"W-Where is she?"He asked hopefully, but at the same time… he could feel his insides becoming heavy as he watched their faces. He knew he would not like what he was going to hear.

"We're so sorry."

And so was he. Although it wasn't quite the best word to describe what he was feeling.

.

Kurapika entered the hut and blankly looked around for her. When he finally did, the heaviness inside his gut was indescribable. All he knew was that it was the same feeling when he lost everyone in his clan, but knowing he could have done better for Gon—he felt worse.

"Gon," He called, or rather squeaked, hoping she'd wake up. But she did not, and his vision blurred. He couldn't believe his eyes… his princess—_gone_. He breathed in and went closer to that beautiful lifeless corpse on a bed much too small for grown humans. He couldn't hear the wails of the people, dwarves, and the animals that surrounded the bed.

He leaned down, initially so that he could get a closer look, but in the end letting his body move on its own. He pressed his lips against hers, hoping that maybe the act he had dreamt of committing would perhaps wake her from her deep slumber.

But again, it did not.

* * *

Several hours of restless travels later, Killua's cold eyes finally saw his old home—a castle on top of a mountain by the country's borders. It was surrounded by another one of those Dark Forests that, frankly, made his interior boiling intensify even more.

He tried to hide the killing intent inside of him—it was too strong, but Illumi didn't seem to mind. They effortlessly passed through the dark forest using the road already there ages ago, and reached the wall hundreds of yards up, only to be opened by hand.

Inside, they passed by Mike, a pet dog, which was like almost everyone in that household—robots. He walked and walked and basically ignored all greetings and glared at his own mother (who gushed over his glare) and went straight to the master's room.

"Welcome back, son." Silva said nonchalantly and Killua immediately exploded. A second later his arm—the one that hurt Gon—sharpened to its maximum and aimed for his father's head.

"You!" He yelled as he stared at the man who was staring back at him, using a single hand to stop his attack. "You helped that... that _witch_ make Gon suffer!

"And now she's dead."

Silva twitched and with a swift movement—kicked his son, aiming for the ribs. "Calm down, child." He said and looked at the boy who managed to shield himself from too much damage in a nanosecond. "I'm impressed—you never showed this much power before."

But Killua did not hear the compliment."_How do you expect me to calm down?!"_

"I doubt she's truly dead. The Princess did have an odd Nen ability, after all."

"…" _Why did he know that?_

"Ging, he… was an old friend of mine." He said with finality, as if it was the right reply. "I never planned on killing him."

"You liar!" He yelled, wanting to attack. Unfortunately, his legs betrayed him and stayed in place.

"We were hired by our employer—the current Queen—not knowing of our relations with our target. When he realized he left his precious child alone with Bisuke—he took his own life to protect her, to at least awaken a protective charm inside her." He paused. "Giving the life he was starting to regret having to the daughter he loved was his choice."

Killua's eyes widened. He wanted to believe Gon was, indeed, alive—but she wasn't. He saw her lifeless corpse. Damned this man for giving him the hope he already regretted hosting. "I… do not believe you."

"That woman, that Bisuke, was a force to be reckoned with." Silva said. "But I do not think she'd want the princess dead like that. She must have wanted something… perhaps it is related to why she never aged."

"What do you think you will achieve by telling me this?"

"I happen to like this country better when Ging's dynasty was still ruling." He said bluntly, even with Ging's frequent interventions with his job. Silva dared to admit it was… boring without that person. Frankly, everyone was getting rusty... minus, interestingly, his son. "Besides, didn't you notice? You got stronger when you have someone to protect.

"Why did you think I allowed _you_ to take the job that was supposed to be your brother's?"

* * *

Bisuke was waiting anxiously as she sat on her throne. She was, once again, alone. She looked at the mirror and looked at her hands—the one that gave Gon that apple. It was an apple that she put a spell on. It was an ability to make a person _die_ temporarily. Because the Snow Assassin would not kill her herself, she had to think of some other way to take her heart.

Gon needed to 'die' for her to get a hold of her personally, otherwise her father's protection would keep her from harming her—as it always had. She would be able to get the girl's heart, even without the pure killer's help.

The ability had a very cheesy flaw, though. Something about when the victim was kissed by his or her true love—then the spell would be broken.

That was why she sincerely hoped that Gon had yet to fall in-love.

And she was relieved to see Kurapika looking empty. Snow White's dead body entered the royal courts, and this confirmed the fact that Kurapika was, indeed, not Gon's love. She ignored the dwarves in there, and mused to plan against them later.

Bisuke ran to the princess 'corpse' and cried, begging for everyone to leave her alone. It was an order. And no one could say anything else anyway, they were already too weak.

But as the door closed, the sobbing turned to one of grin and she stared at the fairest girl in the land, knowing she wouldn't have the title anymore in just a few minutes.

She was going to be the most beautiful again. She stared at the mirror and involuntarily imagined the spirit within when it still occupied a human body. She found herself flinching, just before she let out an almost maniacal laugh.

No one would dare betray her again.

**…**

Several hours of mourning later, Kurapika was on fighting mode. He was just swearing to find proof of Bisuke's schemes, and the dwarves only helped his certainty. They were now surrounding Gon's body—afraid to leave it alone with Bisuke for long.

He recalled her surprised face when they entered all of a sudden. She was not crying anymore, but she was quick to feign back her despair and sadness. After all, she could only feign so much despair as everyone knew they were not _that_ close, so when he announced they'd be moving her body to the Gazebo—where everyone in the palace could visit her, and she begrudgingly agreed.

"What do we do?" He whispered and the nearby dwarves turned their heads to him. "We can't accuse her so readily—we don't have proof yet. For now, we need to hold our guards up."

It was the time where only they were left, everyone else couldn't take to see their beloved princess in such a state. The chibis looked at each other and pondered if they should tell Kurapika of Killua, wondering what that would do. Should they tell him?

"Dwarves—"

"We prefer to be called Chibis, Sir."

"Chibis?"

"We call ourselves that now. We even add 'chibi' as prefix so people would remember." They said. "It's a symbol of our new status, dwarves are too derogatory a term ever since Bisuke ascended to the throne."

"I see."

"But you can still call us with our given names, of course." Senritsu smiled and Kurapika smiled back. It was then that he looked at the chibis alternately. "So…are you going to answer my question or not? Somehow I doubt you would have no idea."

"Well…," Netero paused. "We were thinking you should be of sound mind before we say anything."

"…" Kurapika was never told that before. "I assure you I am calm enough to make sound judgement."

"Bisuke… she hired an assassin to kill the princess." Netero said coolly. "I doubt he will speak th—"

"She _what?!" _He yelled and abruptly stood up. "Then—"

"No, the assassin did not kill her. He protected the princess until someone got into our home and took her life somehow." He said. "He left her alone, falling for the murderer's trap. I think he disappeared because of that."

"So technically it is also his fault." Kurapika's eyes were red then. He wanted _everyone_ who had to do with Gon's death to pay—even himself. He brought it upon himself to bring her death to justice—no matter what the cost to himself.

"It is."

They turned to the voice and Kurapika immediately attacked. Everyone gasped as a few plants and trees were destroyed in the process. A chain quickly materialized hitting Killua's arm. But instead of running away, he looked at Kurapika with pleading eyes.

"Stop—please. We need to get to the princess!" He yelled as he continued to avoid Kurapika's chains.

"Don't you _dare_ go near her, Snow Assassin!"

"I-It's true Sir Kurapika!" Senritsu yelled running to them. "He had always tried to protect the princess!" And she paused. "And I… even if there was no heartbeat—there was an odd sound inside of her I couldn't make out before."

"Lies!" He yelled and attacked anyway. It was then that Senristu played her flute—making them calm down momentarily.

"Senritsu."

Killua huffed and took it as an opportunity to save her. "Please! You have got to believe me—she's alive, and we can still save her."

"How can she be alive? If you're making a fool of me, I swear—"

Killua looked away in reluctance, but decided to stomp over the imminent embarrassment and the hatred that came with it. "No. It was a spell—she's not dead forever. A kiss from her true love—" He said, his mother told him that begrudgingly with help from his father. "It will awaken her. Kiss her."

Frankly, it was like he ate something incredibly bitter when he said that. But then, Kurapika whispered something that made it all go away.

"I… already did." Kurapika whispered and turned away and, then when Killua almost breathed, he turned back. "But do you seriously think I would believe you, Snow Assassin?"

"No. But my parents knew of this type of spell." Killua said. "A manifestation of the ability to do the opposite of what life force does."

"Why don't you kiss her, then? Killua." Senritsu intervened making the two boys gape at her.

"What?"

"I'm serious." She said. "I could hear it."

Kurapika, well aware of the chibi's ability could only stare at her in shock and then soon whipping his head towards the Assassin's direction. He had a pained expression, but it was far from disgusted. "It is unrequited."

"Are you sure?"

And everyone was silent, knowing every implication of that short sentence. Kurapika closed his eyes and turned around. Senritsu's eyes, full of guilt for having to tell it, followed him as he walked away.

"Want to go for a walk? Together?" She paused. "We have a lot of catching up to do."

"Very well." He said and Senritsu saw his eyes go to the horizon—as if wanting to fly there. She unconsciously held his hand.

"It's going to be fine, the princess will live." She said and he smiled at her.

"I know. And she _will_ be happy." He said, before sighing heavily at himself. "I just hope that when she wakes up…, I wouldn't make her feel like she shouldn't be."

Senritsu closed her eyes and heard his selfless heartbeat. She smiled, opened her eyes, and said with confidence:

"You'd do just fine."

…

Killua could hear his own heartbeat and bet to the heavens every one of the chibis did, too. All of his muscles seemed to work against him—forcing him out when he was aiming to lean down. He was so nervous—and that was an understatement.

"Oh, hurry up child."

"If you don't, _I'll_ kiss her." Hisoka said (in a way, like usual, that they didn't know if he was joking or not—no one dared to guess) and Killua's eyes twitched. He closed his eyes and pushed himself forward.

His heart stopped as he felt her soft lips against his. The longer the feeling lingered the redder he became, and the closer his heart was to finally stopping.

And yet he didn't want to stop.

But he had to—eventually, when he took up the courage to open his eyes and—

_Doki_

He immediately pushed himself up, but could only go so far. In the end, he was still leaning against the marble surface full of flowers where Gon lied. Her eyes were wide and a beautiful shade of red enamoured her whole face. Killua couldn't help himself, and allowed his already weakening arms to let go.

He kissed her again, and this time she kissed him back.

"Oi, oi." Chibioreo muttered. "I hate to ruin moments here (not) but perhaps we have more things to worry about." He said and looked up the window. They forgot they were right on the Royal Court's view—and the Queen was now staring at the gazebo, seeming to have an idea of what was happening despite the obstruction that they called roof.

"Let's go!" Chibinetero announced and everyone else followed. Killua and Gon, though, stared at each other for a little while longer. Gon honestly had no idea what to say.

But it didn't really matter now, did it?

**…**

Bisuke was staring at her mirror that time prior, as she pondered on how to take the girl's heart without the interference she worked so hard to eliminate. She could have taken her heart back in the hut—but her guards came back much too quickly. She mused that she should just request they burn her—that way, it would be easier for them not to notice she was missing her heart once she was done with her.

_Ashes_

She looked at the mirror and imagined the face that formed whenever she awoke it. Like she did to _him_, just before his life turned to that of a magical mirror.

Beyond was his name. He was a strong man with incredible aura and strength—subject to the admiration of many. And she was hailed the most beautiful in the land, and it was only natural for them to end up together.

But then time came to ruin everything—she got old, and subsequently… ugly. He did too, of course, but men need not be beautiful to be valuable…, unlike women. He had the strength and the power—he was a rare Nen user, and he also aged slower because of it. Beyond left her in a nursing home and had a relationship with some other younger woman… or maybe even three.

It was degrading to be in a nursing home, where people only take care of you simply because they were paid. But more than anything, she wanted to spend the rest of her life with _him_.

When she went to him and begged for him to take her back—no one wanted to take care of an old woman—he turned her away with a beautiful woman laughing behind him. _"Please._" She could still hear her own pitiful voice resounding across his halls. He was forced to use his Nen on her, but it backfired.

That was the day she found out she could use Nen. And like the Princess', it was a special kind: the ability to transfer life force and transform it.

His women were the first—they turned to ash, and she became younger. She could see it, in the mirror that was coincidentally placed next to the woman she just killed—soon to be the mirror she would bring anywhere she would go. She could recall his wide eyes, filled with shock and fear, frozen from the initial suction of life she made with him. When he could finally move, she quickly took his life and placed it on the mirror beside her.

And now there he was, becoming her apathetic and annoying man inside the mirror on a stand, his body like that of his women—back to the earth.

She recalled the short moments she had with Gon just before she killed her, and then the other times they interacted. _How can someone remain so pure?_ She mused, but the wonder turned to contentment for if she did not exist, her ticket to immortality wouldn't, either.

She recalled the form she took. It was her true form, and she despised it so. She wanted to take a child's form with a little red riding hood—but in the end she didn't have any other choice. Transforming to such youth was risky for the little reserve of life she had left. Besides, more than for a young healthy girl, the princess would give more pity—

How she hated that word. But in the end, she went there in her true form.

She saw her current wrinkles were becoming visible again, and in her scurry went to check out her target.

But when she looked down the window and saw the atmosphere, she realized they were whispering in a way no one else, even with her hearing, could hear—there was no mistake her plans were ruined. She watched the dwarves as they sprinted towards to castle and aim for her room. Except for the Snow Assassin and the princess.

_No, it's not ruined… not yet_.

She forced a smirk, which worked in adding in some confidence, and jumped down the window quietly, leaving the two lovebirds alone to deal with. Maybe she could handle the Snow Assassin, so long as he was alone.

"Hello, kids." She said nonchalantly, and the Snow Assassin was quick to stand protectively between her and Gon. His eyes wandered to where the dwarves went in anxiety.

"Ora. Afraid you won't be able to handle me alone?"

"I probably have a few hundred years of handicap." This brat (yes, he got demoted to one now) even managed to insult her. "It's good to have minimal injuries." He paused, a little _too _happy his princess was alive. "Your wrinkles increased huh, old hag?"

_Twitch_

And Bisuke thought: to _hell_ with composure.

**…**

Kurapika and Senritsu ran to where they were when they heard weird sounds. Their eyes widened when they saw Killua all bloodied—with a large hand holding his face tightly. It was Bisuke's. They looked at Gon and she was unconscious and lying on bushes. She was probably thrown to the wall, landing in them.

Kurapika quickly released his chains and targeted Bisuke, but as it surrounded her arms—he, too, was thrown away albeit he managed to regain his balance and reach the ground without a scratch. His eyes shifted a bit and was relieved Senritsu got his message and was then on her way to Gon on the opposite side of where he now stood.

"Impressive, right? The muscles I developed through the years." She said with a deep voice that was all-too familiar to Senritsu's ears. There was no doubt about it—Bisuke was the midwife that was present during Gon's birth. "Well-hidden… and ugly." She smirked and pressed her hands a little more, making Killua scream. "Like my wrinkles."

"A lot of young ladies lost their lives in these hands. Be flattered Snow Assassin. They are worthy lives though, they gave me the power to… maintain my beauty." She shrugged. "Too bad you're male. I'll probably just destroy your head."

But before she could crunch his head—Bisuke heard an abrupt "Gon!" somewhere and the next thing she knew, a strong kick already reached its way on a critical area of her neck.

"Leave him alone!" She heard, along with a flop caused by the Snow Assassin's body falling, and then her own cough. And soon, some of her blood was on the grass. She cursed at how strong the girl was. But she managed to smile arrogantly and stood up, glaring her down.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I can?" She said with that new baritone voice of hers. "And God knows I'm born to be Queen."

"You're wrong!" She yelled. "True Queens will never put themselves first. You can never be Queen."

"Antigone, Antigone… Do you _seriously_ think you can win against me?"

"I do!" She said fiercely and she could tell Killua was back up again and was readying for an attack. She wanted to apologize, she caught him because he tried to protect her. It was time she joined in and contributed to this battle.

"You do not have a chance against me, Antigone. You are too weak. Stop being naïve."

"But she isn't alone." Killua announced wiping blood on his eyes in the process. And as soon as he uttered the final syllable he sprinted towards Bisuke and made a high-kick. Bisuke blocked it with her muscular arm and bent it in an attempt to destroy his balance. Killua quickly used his other feet to kick her arm as leverage and managed to avoid her hit. The attack made a loud booming sound.

But his blood started dripping again distracting him for, literally, half a second—which Bisuke did not miss. His eyes widened when he saw her hand an inch away from his head, and an instant later it wasn't. He realized Gon kicked her arm, saving him from further pain once more.

They looked at each other in understanding. Bisuke was incredibly strong. They needed a plan, if ever they'd want a chance to beat her. Gon looked at Senritsu, who was also thinking of something and how to be of help. But Bisuke, Killua, and Kurapika let out more aura—not that she saw or felt it herself—but she knew by their expression. She recalled what its effects were to normal people and Gon whipped her head towards Senritsu, silently begging her to warn off all normal people nearby.

It was then Bisuke stood up and went for another attack, only to freeze on the spot. They stared in a mix of puzzlement and guardedness. She struggled genuinely, to their surprise, and slowly—chains materialized around her. They followed its line to Kurapika.

"You!" She yelled. She let out an even larger burst of aura that allowed her to break through the chains. Kurapika and Killua both did the same. Bisuke though, took back a little of her aura but nevertheless maintaining a good amount out. She disliked doing this, after all, as she was wasting precious energy she worked for to save. But then again, when she successfully took Gon's heart—she'd not only have unlimited youth, but perhaps power as well.

She smirked and let her force burst out again after that thought—blowing the boys away. She'd be impressed by how protective the princess' ability was but it she'd win in the end. The two quickly recovered to stop her attack, and Gon barely managing to avoid her hit. Kurapika and the Snow Assassin hit her simultaneously but her aura ensured she did not feel anything.

With simultaneous movements of the legs and hooks—she, once again, succeeded in blowing the two boys away. She concentrated her aura to her legs so she could catch up with the annoyingly agile princess and avoid the two boy's attacks effortlessly. No one noticed the amount of damage they were doing to the beautiful garden.

Gon's eyes fired up and she purposely stood on the marble fountain (and silently apologized for the sculptor who worked so hard for it). Bisuke unsurprisingly used a lot of strength to punch her and she avoided in the nick of time. Gon's eyes fired when she saw her plan worked and that Bisuke's arm was stuck for a few seconds. A few seconds was long, in such a battle.

She put all of her strength on her feet for a strong kick—recalling fully all of her feelings when she thought of her parents, and what how everything could have been if it weren't for _her_. She wasn't the type to entertain grudges—but she was using this one efficiently.

_**BAM!**_

Bisuke's large body mass would have flown if she was in her usual form, but instead she just made a 180 degree turn and her back slid a yard to the grass, forming a line of soil.

"Let me ask this again." Gon huffed seriously and put her feet over Bisuke's neck, letting her feel a threatening pressure. "_Why are you doing this to us?"_

Killua and Kurapika stood nearby in awe, but were mostly guarded of her in case Bisuke did something fishy.

Bisuke scoffed and stared at her—suddenly transforming back to her old form, making Gon lose her balance. With a smaller body, there was more agility, so before Kurapika and Killua could catch Gon she managed to hit them both (albeit lightly) and grabbed Gon's neck.

"You underestimate me."

The two boys quickly stood up and yelled "Gon!" prior to attack. Their eyes met and they knew they had to work together—at least this time. Kurapika closed his eyes and sighed. They quickly ran to Bisuke and forced themselves to calm as they heard Gon's squeak as her neck was being torturously crushed. After being directly on her sides, they sprinted towards Bisuke simultaneously and attacked.

But they stopped.

"Come ten feet closer—and she'll die." Bisuke said, her wrinkles were now too large to miss. "I only need her heart, anyway."

The two froze—not knowing what to do. Feeling incredulously useless and could only watch Gon as she is being held by the neck.

"Hohoho~" They blinked and looked where it came from. It was from the castle—from the royal courts, to be precise. "Kill her and I destroy this." The oldest of the chibis said seriously as he held up something flat and reflective against the window sill.

"A mirror?"Killua frowned, obviously not in the mood for even more uncertain things. But when he looked back in worry to Gon, he saw Bisuke's hold on her softened up. Killua blinked, but didn't allow himself to be relieved. But was Bisuke so narcissistic?

"Look closer." He turned back, along with Kurapika, and used 'Gyo' in understanding. Their eyes widened. The _mirror_ had a friggin' life force!

"Let her go." Killia said to Bisuke immediately, hoping like hell she would. But Bisuke only frowned and tightened her hold. "You think I'm so stup—"

But then Netero dropped it.

**…**

As Bisuke quickly ran to the palace to catch her mirror, Killua and Kurapika ran to Gon's direction. But even when Kurapika was slightly ahead, Gon unconsciously opened her arms for Killua. As they embraced, Kurapika looked away… distracting himself at another scene with their enemy.

Soon the two watched as Bisuke caught it. Gon, after recovering her voice, whispered. "She cares for that mirror."

"She's just narcissistic."

"She is." Gon agreed. "But…" Instead of continuing, she stood up and walked towards Bisuke who was then sitting on the grass and held her mirror in relief after barely catching up to it. The chibis above also jumped down and she was now surrounded by powerful Nen users.

She saw Bisuke's skin, slowly—but surely—become less vibrant. More and more wrinkles were appearing, and her aura (according to Kurapika) was decreasing significantly. She stared at the mirror and Gon could see she wasn't looking at herself. Gon wanted to know who she was looking at.

"Gon…" The boys called and she smiled mouthing a light 'I'll be fine'.

"Bisuke-san." She said. "Please give up."

Bisuke laughed loudly. "You think I will? In case you still don't know, I have to take young girls' lives to keep on living. But it can all stop if you give me **yours**."

Gon walked closer to her, and everyone's eyes widened.

"Oi, Gon." Killua whispered back vehemently and held her back. "Don't be an idiot."

"I'm not." At least she thought. She knew she couldn't be naïve and give her heart to that poor woman who probably went through a lot to become that way. She had a lot of responsibility, her life was not just hers to give—she understood that now. Just as she knew she couldn't do house chores forever simply because it was the only thing she was good at.

"Gomen ne, I cannot do that." She said as she sat down to her level, but just out of reach from her assuming Bisuke wouldn't move. "I have a country to rule."

Something twitched in Bisuke's eyes and with a quick movement she gestured to grab her again. But—

_Slash_

Her arms were cut off. By a sharp card, from no other than Hisoka the chibi. The realization was swiftly followed by a screeching yell of pain and gushes of blood. Gon's eyes widened at a slowly forming—almost invisible—face on the mirror.

"Bisuke…" He said with such a low voice that Gon was sure she was the only one who could hear. "I'm sorry for everything and I know you did not live a happy life because of me. I'm sorry. But it is time to give up." He paused when Bisuke started coughing blood. "I promise I will watch your grave forever."

"…shut…up." Bisuke huffed, and the others had assumed she was talking to someone else. Her movements were crippling and tears of torture came out of her eyes.

Gon gulped at the sight and extended her arms to help—only to be glared away by the soon-to-be former Queen.

"Do not pity me, Princess." She said. "_That_ is worst thing you can do to me."

"I…I'm sorry." Gon said and quickly wiped away the tears. "But I do not pity you. I simply feel for your pain.

"You are so strong—I wish you chose a different path than this."

Bisuke's eyes widened, letting everyone see her bloodshot eyes even more clearly. Soon it softened, and then it lost color. They didn't know if it was their imagination, but in the end—Bisuke sent them a small smile.

"Good bye, Princess."

And she turned to ash, herself.

...

* * *

3 months later

* * *

Queen Antigone walked along her newly designed garden (surprisingly, by Hisoka) and it was wonderful. In fact, all chibis were doing wonderful jobs—Machi and Buhara were back to being cooks, having a warm welcome from the people that worked with before. Leorio became the palace pharmacist, Morel a soldier, Netero became priests that could actually use Nen, and Hisoka became the court magician (and part-time landscape architect). Senritsu was a royal musician, but now she was allowed to take on the role of a scholar with Kurapika. Apparently they had been friends before, and they got a lot closer now.

She ended up in a part of the garden with a mirror hanging on the wall, and a small patch of land unperturbed in front of it, in fact a pretty plant seemed to be growing. She'd bet the plant would love it if it grew tall enough to see itself in the mirror, just like the owner of the ashes it owed its healthy growth to.

Gon knew that they might never know what they've been through, but look at Bisuke's legacy now. She helped a plant grow quickly and prettily, and it would be marvelled by generations to come.

She felt another gust of wind that reminded her again of her encounter of the unicorn and smiled. But then she felt another rustle of the leaves, and this time it was not caused by the wind. It got closer and closer and she beamed.

"Killua!"

The boy grinned and stood in front of her so he could give her a hug. "How was it?"

"They said we have nothing to worry about. No one in the country tried to hire them ever since you ascended the throne. They'll be taking jobs, which they would not change for anyone, in some other country." It was like his pardon—to ensure his family did not do jobs in the country. It was enough as in their world—death was naturally accepted, and killing was solely a moral sin and not that of the law.

"I guess that's a relief." She smiled. "Thanks." He grinned back and God knew he wanted to lean down to give her a chaste kiss—but she was a Queen now and he was an ex-murderer, so he couldn't. And yet the desire seemed obvious. "I missed you." She said and tip-toed. But before she could go a few inches closer to him—

"Your highness! Lady Mito is call—" The young ginger blushed. "I'm sorry!" And ran away in utter humiliation. But she also knew she'd be squealing about it with the other maids in a few minutes.

Killua stared at the direction the girl went. "She's?"

"Luzviminda's younger sister." She smiled. She recalled the state funeral they gave for her, along with the other girls missing before. The only thing she could do for them was to know them through their family members and keep their memories inside of her. She was thankful no one held a grudge. "She wanted to take her sister's place."

"Hmn. I'm not surprised." He said, blushing at what the girl 'misunderstood'. "I'm sorry for that."

"Hmn?"

"I mean she probably misunderstood…us." He looked at her still-innocent face, despite what she'd been through, and knew that he wanted to make sure she didn't go through it again.

"You _are_ the ruler, and you're keeping this country alive. It was healthier and more protected than ever." He smiled. "If people didn't want to serve you—they'd feel like they're freeloading."

"…ha." Gon tilted her head, still pondering about the misunderstanding part.

"Like I do. I'm too happy I don't think I deserve it." He chuckled, almost sardonically. "I also don't think I've paid enough for my crimes. I asked Morel to have me added as a guard—and he agreed.

"I'll be protecting you as your personal guard, now." He said proudly and to his surprise her eyes widened and she looked away, puzzled. He unconsciously narrowed his eyes, and tried to calm down his heartbeat of anxiety and the thoughts that she didn't want him beside her, after all. "What's wrong?"

"Well, I…"

"It's fine. You can tell me."

"I thought you'd be fine with being my husband…"

.  
.

**FIN**

* * *

…

* * *

_Thank you _for reading the whole three chapters! (Which consists of more than 20k words!) xD  
Sorry for the open ending, but yeah! Ahaha. Thought it was fine leaving it that way.  
Hope you enjoyed, but whatever you thought we would be so happy to read them.


	6. Beauty and the Beast 1

Disclaimer: I don't own HunterXHunter or Beauty and the Beast. Weird things would happen if I did.  
Author: Butterfree  
Fairy Tale: Beauty and the Beast  
Genre/Rating: Romance, Drama, Fantasy / T  
WARNINGS: Fem! Killua

**Beauty and the Beast (Part I of II)**

Once upon a time, there were four kingdoms ruling the world. True, there were hundreds of lords, ladies, and rich farmers who believed in their positions of upper class. Despite their existence, these four nations had the final say within their respective borders.

One of the four powers was known as the Yorbian Kingdom, which had a high belief in business and money. They were greatly regarded for being the most advanced out of all the lands, sporting companies and blueprints as far as the eye can see. Across the ocean and through the thick forest was the Kingdom of Dentora. This kingdom valued perfection; grace in many trained forms. But mostly in the beauty of its citizens. Any child born within the region was said to never grow a single wrinkle.

Right next to Dentora was its complete opposite, the Kingdom of Azian. Unlike the other two, all the people were brought up completely average; neither highly intelligent nor with allure which rivaled the gods. These lands prioritized happiness above all else. Because of their rituals of village banquets and scraggy donations, they were often mocked by the other royal families. The last kingdom of Meteor was the furthest. It was said to have planted itself right in newly discovered territory infested with ferocious beasts and evil witches. Needless to say, they were the clan of strength and independence. Their people rarely crossed the endless sea to make contact with the other three.

In the center stood Dentora. Dentora was ruled by the Zoldyck line, a family which resided the castle perched on Kukuroo Mountain overlooking its villages. The great King Silva and his wife had five children. The oldest by the name of Illumi was known for growing up with the most gorgeous hair in the kingdom, and deadly accuracy with a blowgun. The second was the chubby Prince Milluki, said to have inherited the most preserved mind in the lands. He quickly learned the secrets of ruling the family before he could walk.

The youngest, Alluka, dazzled the town on his first day out of the castle, and had since possessed a smile that was unrivalled throughout the kingdom. The small boy had easily become the prodigy in the art of magic. His slightly older brother, Kalluto, enrolled himself in the studies of dance. Born with skin that glowed in moonlight and perfect composure, he received the most engagement proposals merely by the age of 13.

Then, there was the middle child.

The day the only girl was born into the family was one of the worst. She came out of her mother's womb with soot black eyes and dead grey hair that looked to have belonged to the King's grandfather the night he died. Her infamous laugh screeched like a croak of a toad. Skin on the verge of a sickly almost blue color. Within an hour of staring at her child's distorted teeth, Queen Kikyou immediately claimed such a beast not to belong to her. The guards outside the room thought it to look like a demon. Hence that was when the youngest scullery maid Killua was named.

Prohibited from going to the family dinners for fear the public would know about her, Killua survived on leftovers the cooks threw her and slept in a guest bedroom at the back. She would clean. None of the other maids dared talk to her for even they surpassed her in beauty in every way.

Occasionally the top scholar of the castle, Kurapika, or their royal doctor, Leorio would sneak a piece of chocolate from the pantry. They would then stay up and talk all night of funny stories involving Milluki or a horse kicking up mud into the Queen's dress. But the two men were older. They were constantly busy. The times where Killua laughed were few and far in between.

Killua had just turned nine when she made her first real friend. The saddle girl, a slightly taller child named Canary, found her in the root cellar mumbling something about chocolate. The foreign girl had just gone into town and had some candy in her pocket. The two became instant friends. Since then, Canary would sneak away on breaks to talk to the princess. Those weeks were some of the happier ones. They would skip rope, run races, and do things that little girls should do.

One day Illumi discovered them in the yard. Playing a game called tag instead of cleaning the windows. It seemed fine. But fear that Canary would reveal the secret of their third child became a topic of discussion. Not an hour later the saddle girl was fired and exiled from the kingdom. Killua was alone again.

It was a month later on a rainy week that something strange happened. An old lady knocked on the giant doors of the castle. With long dry hair and a robe covering the blisters on her enormous nose, it was the most hideous person anyone in the kingdom had ever seen. She needed a night to stay and only had a blue rose to offer in exchange. The oldest son answered the door and promptly rejected the request. It was believed in their lands that such a bestial woman would bring upon bad luck.

She returned the next day. The second eldest came to the door this time. In addition of being told to leave, dirt was thrown at her face before the giant doors slammed her to the ground. The following two days were not much different, with the youngest and second youngest kindly telling her to go away.

It was on the fifth and her final day of returning to the castle that Killua answered the door. That night happened to be the little princess' birthday. The beautiful blue rose was the best present she had ever gotten. With storm as miserable as ever, her bulging nose and monstrous figure were the last things on Killua's mind. She let the woman in. Without question the guest was led to her shabby room. The gesture surprised the old lady.

"Excuse me, young miss." She sat on a lone chair. "Are you not one of the King's children, the princes' sister?"

"Yeah, unfortunately. But I don't really care about them."

They sat in silence. Killua turned to the rose in her hand. It almost sparkled a light violet that reminded her of a combination of the flowers that grew outside and the fish swimming in the aquarium in their library. She must've been staring for a while, for the unnamed traveler spoke again. "What do you like about that rose?"

"It's a nice color." The little girl mused, tackling the bed to let out a yawn. "Not like this place. It's depressing here."

"So you don't like this kingdom." Killua's head snapped at the sound of singing. It was weird. "What would you do if you were the Queen?"

"Me?" She pointed to herself. "I'd change it…to something more fun. Not for _those _people, but everyone."

The two barely talked after that. Killua wasn't sure why but she felt her eyes getting heavy. She knew better than to let a complete stranger into the castle without keeping an eye on her. Yet for some reason her body wouldn't move. Her vision fell blurry, and suddenly the young girl found herself in a deep sleep.

When she woke up a day later, the room was empty but the rose still lay strong in her palm. Thinking that the lady had just left, she walked into the hallway. Every maid and servant stared in awe. It was annoying .Even more so seeing as she didn't know anyone to ask what was going on. Then her tired legs made their way to the bathroom. What she didn't expect was to find the biggest surprise of anyone's life.

In the mirror stood a completely different person. Gone were the horrid ingrown teeth, stone black eyes, and dirty spider web hair. In its place stood the most beautiful girl that anyone in the kingdom had ever seen. With eyes bluer than the sky, hair now a pure white and silkier than the eldest, skin that excelled the second youngest, and a smile that rivaled the smallest, Killua instantly became the heir to the throne.

However, with this new power came consequences.

Six years later, when Killua had just turned sixteen, is where the real story begins.

-H-H-H-H-H-H-

"Why don't you just try the dress on, your Highness?"

"I'm telling you, just call me Killua!" The princess huffed. "And that dress is too frilly. There's no way I'm wearing it just for all the losers out there."

Kurapika sighed. The two were in the middle of studies. The blond was appointed as the heir's personal tutor after what happened six years ago. That meant more time with the once shunned girl. But seeing as he was one of the best teachers around and Killua was quick to learn, they always had some extra time left over. Because of this, many of the blushing maids would always ask him to talk the princess into doing things.

But this time, Killua seemed set. With blue diamond cuffs and lace of gold, Seamstress Machi had spent months collecting its rare parts. "Alright, Killua. Just wear something nice and forget about the dress."

"Can I forget about the ball too?"

"No."

Killua groaned, inwardly cursing at the sky. "I don't want to get married to some guy who thinks he's all that just because he has some pocket change. The least they could do is invite some more powerful people to this thing."

Kurapika frowned. In Dentora, 'power' was another word for 'beauty'. That was the way things worked. Money was merely a bonus.

"Killua." That got her attention, seeing as the teacher rarely remembered to call her by name. "You're sixteen and soon you'll be finding a husband. Choosing one is not an easy task. May I talk to you about that-"

"Are you saying I'll mess up?"

Cold blue eyes and scoff made the scholar flinch. And Kurapika looked down. He mustn't forget his position. "No, your Highness."

"Good." And things went back to normal from there.

They ended their session early because the princess had to prepare for the ceremony. This wasn't the first one. In truth, they had been going on since the heir turned twelve. A bimonthly ball where countless men lined up to please Killua in an attempt to snag her as a bride became real tiring real quickly. Some fell for her looks at first sight, swearing eternal love just to try and get the pampered girl in bed. Others fell for the riches. There was never one who was any different. And finally at the age where which man she pointed at mattered, Killua's slowly warping ideal was worrying the doctor and him.

It was sad. But they both knew that at the rate she was going, she'd never accept the right one.

That night went as all the others. Killua was told to sit on a pedestal as a hungry line of teens, children, and even old men in fancy clothes were each given 20 seconds to introduce themselves. As if that was enough time to fall in love. It was supposed to be a ball where groups went off to dance or mingle. The first few minutes started that way. But they would always end in a contour of people zigzagging around the grand room. And as always, the line diminished and left for home when a chorus of rejection split though the air. No one stayed for Killua refused to dance with even one.

"Kill!" The queen shrieked. "Are you still keeping up your annoying habits? Why won't my dear girl dance with even one of these charming men?"

She scoffed, looking away. "They're disgusting. Can't you make me choose next time?"

"Your birthday's in two weeks. You must choose one _now_! Even Milluki has a fiancée!"

"I don't _want_ to." Killua hated hearing how her fat pig of a brother found someone before she did. It was somehow insulting. She just wanted to go eat or sleep already. "None of them are good enough. Just accept it, mother!"

"Oh?" Surprisingly, the woman calmed. She now had a smile on that unnerved the white-haired girl. It was never good when Queen Kikyou had these mood swings. "So they're not high or good-looking enough for you? That's my girl! How about if I promise you a prince?"

"What are you talking about?" There were many that visited her, but none of such a good title. Since there were only three other kingdoms, princes were rare.

"I'm talking about one unopposed in money and looks; would you promise to marry him without question if I do?"

Against the aching feeling poking at the back of her heart, Killua shook it off. She didn't want to care anymore. "Sure. Find the most powerful, handsome, and charming man you can for me, would you? And make sure he's perfect. I won't say a thing against it."

With that, she was allowed to leave. _Finally!_

In the kitchen, she relished in the idea of peace and quiet. Only to have that hope dashed away. A brown-haired girl with green eyes sat alone. That familiar cowlick made Killua identify her right away. "Is there something you want, princess?"

"No, thank you." Killua gritted her teeth. This girl had showed up on the border a few weeks ago, rumored to rival Killua in beauty yet she still chose Milluki of all people as a fiancé. Something about her threw the princess off. She was a sweet manipulative girl who knew when to say the right thing. The opposite yet similar to Killua in many ways.

She passed the girl to the pantry, hoping to snag a piece of chocolate and possibly a drink. The brunette was conveniently sitting on one of the decorated tables. Her green eyes never strayed from the other girl. It wasn't until Killua had the delightful treat in her hands that she ended this game of silence.

"What do you have there?"

"It's chocolate. You don't know that?"

The girl pursed her lips. "Of course I do. Isn't that really fattening?"

Killua rolled her eyes. "I don't care."

"Wow." The woman mused, looking Killua up and down. "I had heard that men from every continent travelled miles just to get a glimpse of you. I just didn't think it was true until tonight when I saw it with my own eyes. Don't you think they're only treating you this way for your glamor?"

The princess inwardly flinched. She cleverly hid her surprise with a glare. "They all do. I know that. What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that you should watch your weight, Princess." The girl's amiable veil came off and behind it lay her true colors. A bitter woman who was always second to Killua. Luckily she had done her research and convinced Milluki to tell her everything about this royal family. "Or you'll no longer be so fortunate. Neglected, fat, and serving the _servants_. And with only that perverted doctor and no-good tutor bothering to give you the time of day."

Killua wasn't sure. But something snapped.

She seized the girl's throat. It wasn't like her. "_Never_ talk about Kurapika and Leorio like that!"

The girl gasped for air. This wasn't a part of her plan.

No one had seen Killua lose temper before so violently. Something said must have hit a nerve in a way no one else had ever done. She strained a shaking hand against Killua's shoulder. It somehow managed to push the light girl off her. In her desperate struggle to get away, she passed the stove and scrambled to grab a knife to fend her off.

Killua got to her first. Frail fingers grabbed at the brunette's collar, choking her once more. The backwards impact combined with the momentum of her blurry sprint made her body fall sideways.

Right into the sharp marble edge of the table.

'_CRACK!_'

Killua got off the still body. Blood littered the floor. The girl had simultaneously started bleeding and cut herself against nails the princess had neglected to trim this morning.

She stared in shock. A chair was standing a few paces away so she sat in it, recollecting everything that happened. _D-Damn it._ A few minutes, and she brought a palm to the corpse's chest.

There was no pulse.

"Y-You…you murdered the mistress!" Killua's head shot up. A passing cook had been watching the whole thing, arm half way to the bell attached to the wall and ready to call for the guards to split them up. The man was middle-aged and often stared at the princess on Saturday mornings during grand feasts. But even he had a limit. "I'm letting the King and Queen know right away! They'll have you locked up or something. That's the right thing to do!"

"Hey, wait!" Killua scrambled after him. "It was just an accid-"

"No way!" He screamed, jumping away from the girl in a blood-covered dress. Then screeched. "Stay away from me. Just stay-" During the man's fearful cries, he fell to the floor, hitting his nose. Killua watched.

_They'll have me locked up?_ There was no way she would ever accept going back to her old life; anything but being made fun of every day, anything but never being allowed to go out to see the light of day. Mostly, anything but being a slave in her own home.

She made a choice. On the ground beside her lay a knife that the mistress tried to grab before falling to her death. Without thought, Killua picked it up and lunged at the man who had his back turned.

That was the day the head cook and Milluki's fiancée had gone missing.

Killua managed to hide their bodies away in the old shed behind the graveyard right next to the castle. The building was a half broken thing that she used to play in when she was little. No one ever disturbed her back then. Even the lowest of maids refused to get near the growing cobwebs and mud surrounding the area. It wasn't until she made it back that she realized her once pretty dress was covered in blood. She changed, burying all three items in the dirt and away from prying eyes.

Milluki had shed an ocean of tears when he heard of his fiancée's disappearance. Furious at one of the only young and cute girls willing to marry his son suddenly gone, the Queen immediately dispersed investigators to the scene of the crime. But Killua had cleaned the blood to the very last drop. They could only figure out that the Mistress and cook were both in the kitchen the time they disappeared. And Killua had ventured in there at some point during the night.

"Little old me?" Killua faked a shocked look, eyes close to tears. The crystal blues hypnotized judges while sniffles made the strongest fall on their knees. "You think I kidnapped them?"

Everyone, men and women, dispersed the idea as soon as it came. The case died out as it was a silent night. No one had left their rooms or seen anything suspicious. Eventually the second eldest ran into a bakery's daughter. She was an overweight but still gorgeous girl. The castle welcomed the nights she snuck into Milluki's room at the end of their dates.

It was perfect. Killua thought she was off the hook. That was until the rare night of her sixteenth birthday when both Kurapika and Leorio had the time to meet up. It was difficult to find the girl amidst the party. When it was nearly over, they finally took her aside for a talk. It was raining just as it was six years ago. The two chose a corner of the castle where not a single person would disturb them.

"What do you need, guys?" Killua never saw it coming. But an itch in her stomach had been saying something was wrong all along.

"Killua." Leorio started, choosing his words carefully. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Of course I am."

"You've just been acting strange for a while." It was Kurapika's turn to speak. The much taller men blocked the exit so she couldn't escape. "Everyone else may have given up on solving the mystery of the Cook and Mistress, but we haven't. We were just wondering if anything happened to you then. What were you doing a fortnight ago?"

Killua nearly seethed. These two wouldn't fall for a bat of the eye. "I went to get a snack because I was hungry. Then slept, what's wrong with that?"

Leorio cut to the chase. "Did you murder them?" Only to have the blond elbow him.

She knew it was coming, but somehow hearing it felt so much worse. They knew her too well. "No."

"We can tell when you're hiding something." The blond's eyes hardened. He may have been forced to step down from confronting Killua before, but this time wasn't backing away. "Call it intuition if you will."

The doctor added. "Not only that, but I saw you sneaking around outside after the ceremony. That's normal but you were carrying the dress you wore that day like you were about to burn it or something. Either you're getting rid of evidence or you really hate that dress?" Leorio tried to joke with a good-willed smile. What he didn't expect was to be faced with a two-point glare that could kill.

"I bet you two have some camera recording this, don't you?" Killua snickered. She knew it wasn't funny. In a blink, she was up to their faces, causing Leorio to flinch. "Fine! I did kill them, okay?! What're you going to do about it?"

"Killua-"

"Let me tell you something, Leorio." She spat the name, her eyes narrowed, and body shook. "You both can go to my so called parents and they won't believe you. All I have to do is flash, no, _show_ this face to someone and they hang on every word I say! You two would be the ones thrown in prison for even accusing me. I could have you fed to the piranhas with a flick of a finger. In fact, why _DON'T_ I?!"

Kurapika held a hand up. "That's not what we're trying to say. We just wanted the truth."

"Well you have it." Killua shook her head, looking to the window. "This is how the world works. The most beautiful flourish and the lesser die in holes. No one cares. But you know what?"

The two men who were the closest to parents as Killua would ever know listened.

"If that means I don't have to go back to seeing my friends get sent away just for _talking_ to me, then I'm not doing a thing about it."

Killua nearly laughed when they stepped aside to let her through, not a single word of disagreement coming out anytime soon.

Later in the evening, a knock sounded on the great gates of the castle. It was nearly midnight. The rain outside had gotten worse since the little chat with her two friends. Killua happened to be up and about to get another late night snack when she heard the sound.

Lethargically, she opened the door. "Yes?"

Only to have a green rose obscure her view. "Excuse me, miss. I need a night to stay and it's awfully cold out here. Please let me into a cellar, a shed, anything just until morning. I'm afraid I have nothing but the clothes on my back and this rose to offer you."

Killua studied the woman before her. She had dull grey bristles sticking from a hood which framed a wrinkled face, aged and tried from travelling for days. Despite the crust-filled eyes, she seemed like a person to be trusted. But not entirely. Somehow, this scene was familiar. She shook off the feeling. She was already treading thin rope and letting her in could ruin everything.

"I can't. Find another place."

She tried slamming the door, only for a foot to stop in between. "Oh, but I spotted a shed out in the yard over there. Can I at least spend the night away from the rain?"

Killua's eyes widened. That was where the bodies were hidden. Thinking quickly, she forced the door open with a scowl. "Look, lady. You're hideous. That doesn't work here. Get out before I call a guard on you. And if I find out you slept in there by tomorrow, you'll be arrested for trespassing."

It was then her life did a complete one-eighty.

In a flash of white sparkle, the old lady in the black robe grew in height, passing Killua's shorter figure by half a head. Her grey hair turned blond, those lifeless eyes flickered into bright pink, and suddenly the tattered blanket was a luxurious lavender ball gown. Standing before her was a bewitching twenty-something year old, hair in ponytail and a furious glare on her pretty face.

The princess had to stare for half a minute, wondering what the heck was going on.

The woman introduced herself as Bisuke, a magic user who had the Kingdom of Dentora on her hit list for ages. It was a monopoly of slavery as the ugly grew poorer and died while the rich were oblivious. Living in luxury while salvaging over what little resources they had left. It was unlike Meteor, Azian, and Yorbian, which all thrived on unity in some form. Out of all four kingdoms, this was the most deprived and disgusting one.

The Zoldyck royal family was destined to die on this very day six years ago.

Until a little girl gave Bisuke hope. Going with gut, she blessed this girl the throne along with the most beautiful face in the Kingdom. The sorcerer swore to return on the night of Killua's sixteenth birthday to see if she kept her end of the promise. It was all dashed away with a few selfish words.

As punishment, Bisuke casted a curse on every one of the Zoldyck family. The eldest Illumi was to be shot with a poisonous arrow that slowly made him lose insanity and commit suicide. Milluki, who cheated on his dead fiancée not a week later would be assassinated by the next girl he sleeps with. Kalluto will fall off the stage during practice, sustaining a leg injury that would grow into an infection that slowly eats away at his organs. While Alluka would die from a ricocheted fireball, thrown by one of the many soldiers he's killed from the Azian kingdom.

Killua was given the crudest penalty of all. Hair grew on every inch of her body, pale face and small nose warping into a hound shape. Boils of every size grew on her forehead, ears pointed upward as her neck turned feathery and scales protruded from her back. Fingers which grew long, yellow, and dry could never be seen without the bravest running for the hills. Running until she was all alone once more. A large beast will soon be rumored to have killed everyone in the castle and cast a tragic spell on the family.

Left and right, the citizens who once worshipped her will call her a monster. Unbeknownst to them, a great illness will befall all the people of the richer sector of the kingdom. Killua would continue living this way and grow uglier by the day until the last petal fell from the blue rose Bisuke gave her six years ago. That was when the princess would die in a peaceful sleep.

"WAIT!"

Bisuke was nearly through chanting the conditions of her spell. A powerful pink glow surrounded her hands. She stopped, surprised at the sight of a young blond teen and a much older black-haired man in glasses running towards them. By now, Killua was on the floor, still frozen at the sight. But she was slowly regaining her senses.

"Please. Give your highness another chance." It was Kurapika, Leorio at his heels. Neither could sleep from their earlier banter with Killua. They each decided to go talk to her and ended up bumping into each other in the hallway, realizing they both had the same idea. That was when they heard the distinct sound of the woman reciting downstairs.

"It's not…" Leorio made a painful face. He bowed, begging. "It's not her fault. It's our's. She was brought up in this horrible place which you keep talking about. But she's not a bad kid at all. Please understand."

"Oh?" Bisuke raised a delicate brow. "What do you want me to do? Once I begin the spell, it can't be reversed. Unless you two are willing to give a great sacrifice, I can't add to it either."

The two men looked at each other. In less than a second, they both nodded. "Yes. We give our lives."

"WHAT?!" Killua finally found the energy to speak. She faced them, half shock and half anger adorning her face. "No! You can't decide that. You…should just run. It's an order!"

The princess was ignored. Instead, Kurapika and Leorio merely stepped closer to Bisuke so her flash of pink magic could surround them. In an attempt to stop what was happening, Killua tried chanting a simple spell, a bolt of lightning. But it bounced off the magic user like an ant.

Then, everything went black.

When Killua woke up, gone were the marble floors and gold plated ceilings. In its place was wood and cement stairs. The castle somehow seemed much darker. She could hear cries of the royal family and castle guards running around, wondering what had happened. But that was the least of her worries.

There, lying two feet away from her, were Kurapika and Leorio's dead bodies.

She felt a sting in her eyes. It took a rub of her deformed hand against grisly face to realize she was crying. Pieces of her skin chipped away along with tears. Then, the words she didn't hear rung through her head like a sick chime.

"…_you will continue living this way until the last petal falls from the blue rose. That's when you'll die in a peaceful sleep. Unless someone falls in love with you before then. If that happens, the whole kingdom will be saved."_

It only made Killua punch the ground, more tears threatening to spill around her.

_Stupid. Who could ever love a beast?_

-H-H-H-H-H-H-

On the other side of the mountain, there stood Dentora's North Pole to its equator. The Kingdom of Azian, the region known for starting a new life. This was a backwards town. Arts meant for the royal family were taught to those who signed up without discrimination. Slaves could run freely as long as they kept to themselves. Once stepping into the borders, all was right. It was the Kingdom of happiness.

Unlike the others, Azian had a flexible democracy. Lords thought those of Meteor were admirable and independent, finding ways of returning to their races' roots while building strength. Merchants often traveled to Yorbian to bring back interesting goods. Only the rich could afford them of course, but even soup kitchens enjoyed the demonstrations they would put on.

Meanwhile, the Queen had declared an outright war against Dentora.

A typically playful woman, villagers were surprised at the outburst at first. But none protested. Dentora was the place of monopolies, murders, slavery. Those who escaped such a place would not accept the largest amounts of gold to go back. If Azian won, the dictatorship of the other kingdom would fall in ruins. Soldiers, priests, and warriors gladly lined up to donate to such a cause.

Which was why it was taboo when, at the base of the mountain in a peaceful lodge, one woman prepared to go back.

"Can't I just come with you? It's dangerous."

"No, Gon." She huffed, throwing clothes into a duffel bag without even looking to see what they were. The woman purposely made sure one of her shirts hit the young boy in the face. "I can't believe you. What will happen to this family?! I spent all our extra money to buy decorations and now you do this to us!"

"I'm sorry." He let a stray shampoo bottle bounce off his chest. "But I don't love her."

His aunt let out a sigh. Her eyes wandered to the decaying ceiling, calming just enough to stop the barrage of furniture. Still, the woman refused to face the boy. "Gon, tell me why you can't like her. She's an amazing girl. One of the most beautiful in the land, and she fell for you. The princess of Azian wants you as her husband. This marriage would've saved all of us. And you call the engagement off a mere two weeks after!"

Gon fidgeted with the fishing rod in his fingers. "I just don't. Mito-san, I only agreed to it in the first place because you made me."

"No. You agreed to it because you love her. And all that money was going to pay for saving your grandmother." She zipped her bag of random belongings, leaving the room in a complete mess. The aging woman wordlessly walked out of the house with Gon on her heels.

"Can I please visit grandma too?"

It seemed like forever since Gon was held in his grandmother's arms. When he was a baby, they had lived in the alienated parts of Dentora. Barely enough to feed their family of four, the spikey-haired boy's birth left a huge impact on them economically. Their bills for food and clothing piled up. Yet the subject of abandoning him in a garbage can or leaving the adorable baby up for adoption to raise the smallest amount never came up. They lived with the debt. Ging even worked shifts to the point he only came home to change their rotting pipes.

Then, one day, Gon's grandmother disappeared. Mito was in distress for days, thinking the old woman had committed suicide to keep everyone alive. They received a letter a month later. It stated how she traveled to the palace and begged for a job. She had planned to save enough money to send all of them away to Azian. Away from the thieves who stole from their bags and business owners who continually gave Ging lower and lower paychecks.

It was a long journey. Gon's mother had a fragile body and died halfway through the trip. Ging was killed by a Dentora magic user just a few steps from the border. The youngest prince who had been the one to shoot him only had to let out an apology before officials let the whole thing go. In the end, only Mito and the growing toddler had made it.

Fifteen years later, and things had barely changed.

"Gon…"

The addressed let out a smile. He was glad he finally got through to her.

"I don't think she wants to see you at this point."

With that, Mito left his nephew on the doorstep. She took their only horse so he couldn't follow, doing her best to ignore the utter look of sadness on his face. She was sure she was doing the right thing. Dentora was a horrible place, but at least they were together back then. Grandmother would agree, right?

She fed off this mindset for the next week. The horse's hooves trotted around the path that went around the mountains and through a thickening forest. Days turned to nights as she bathed in lake water and ate from the bag of cornmeal. But somehow, everything she saw reminded her of the last words she said to Gon before leaving. It seemed like the birds were mocking her. The canopy of trees refused to let up. Was she too harsh on him? No, definitely not.

When the border was in view, she abandoned the horse knowing that the creature was smart enough to find his way back. Crossing between two countries at war meant you couldn't be spotted by the soldiers of Dentora. Luckily desperate families looking to escape its cruelty had dug this cave long ago. It was just strange for the guards of Azian to see someone go the opposite way. She was positive Gon would've loved the prospect of visiting a new place, but shook her head to rid of the thoughts.

By the time Mito was closing in on town, guilt was eating away at her. She didn't notice the scrambling drunks or homeless children running around, nor as she made her way to the cleaner parts of the neighborhood pay any mind to the woman in thick makeup carrying chubby cats. Hours passed. She stopped.

This wasn't fair to Gon. None of what she said to him was.

"I should get a gift for him and apologize." Mito looked around her. She expected to find luxurious shops and vendors selling the richest gifts but instead was met with a foggy garden. What was this part of town? The broken gates behind told her that she was already on castle grounds. "But that can't be. Why is everything so…abandoned?"

Some strange force made her look down, and she gasped. As far as the eye can see, the garden was covered in nothing but blue roses. Roses didn't grow in Azian. Gon had always loved studying nature, so this new flower would be the perfect gift. Mito squinted her eyes at the endless rows of blue and spotted a speck of light green just a few feet away from her.

A single green rose grew incandescent amongst the field. Green was Gon's favorite color. Without thought, Mito bent down and picked the flower. But when her fingers touched it, the glow died. She gasped and nearly dropped the prickly stem.

"Who are you?"

Mito jumped back. She wasn't alone. It was quiet, abandoned. And suddenly silver tail, spiked horns, yellow-crusted eyes and claws that gleamed in the moon were all pointed at her.

"I'll ask again: who are you?" She realized the voice could talk, not only so but was addressing her. The woman swallowed. No sound came out. To her relief the other backed away. "Never mind. It doesn't matter. I suppose you're here to slay me too?"

She made the mistake of relaxing, only to have that putrid claw near her throat once more. "Let me tell you. I only held back killing on the spot because you don't look like a fighter. Pretty pathetic, actually."

"No!" Mito squeaked, but managed to calm down. If it didn't kill her right away, that meant it wasn't a true monster. It wasn't fair to treat it as such. "I just wanted to pick a rose from this beautiful garden. I said some horrible things to my nephew and wanted to bring one back to him. May I please have one?"

The beast stayed quiet. The citrine palm, fingers as long and boney as cracks in the desert and held the middle-aged woman by the throat lowered. The beast stepped back. It was an agonizing second that followed. One that she swore would've cut through her stomach if the beast had not.

Then, against all odds, the monster began trotting back to the direction of the palace. In a torn brown dress, it was during this strange moment of silence that Mito realized she was a girl.

"What happened to everyone at the castle?"

The beast paused. She looked over her shoulder. Rain. "Who knows?" And disappeared in the mist.

-H-H-H-H-H-H-

Not a day after returning to Azian did Mito fall to an unknown illness.

The woman claimed to have caught depression after failing to find their grandmother. Scraggy clothes on hand and nothing but pocket change, no one after the great white beast wanted to answer her questions. There was no way in locating the old woman. After fainting several times, a local bartender had identified her as an Azian citizen and had the drunken widow kicked out the country immediately. Luckily her nephew had been waiting on the border with the horse to pick her up.

Gon knew better. Something about the plant she brought back gave a sickeningly sweet smell that he didn't like. He stuffed the flower in a bag. Although beautiful, it seemed to glare at him. He had no doubt that it had something to do with his Aunt's sickness. The problem was that he had no idea what this bud was, other than the name. The last thing Mito told him before falling in a coma was that it was called a rose. He ran to the neighbors and local animals. No one else had ever heard of one.

It was no question.

His aunt was all he had left. Gon made the quick choice to pack his bags and venture into Dentora for a cure. Leaving Mito in the care of the Foxbears.

He was halfway out the door before being stopped by a white carriage. Silver patterns with diamond and pink glitter, it stuck out like a sore thumb in the wilderness and trees.

That could only mean one thing: Palm.

"Gon!" The Queen's daughter was perfection in every way. Slim, with gorgeous black locks, pure eyes, and full lips, she never failed to spill elegancy in front of officials. Currently though, she was adorned in a much shorter dress than usual. It was attire she especially focused on wearing in front of him. The left strap fell off her shoulder quite conveniently.

He let out a weak wave. "Hey, Palm."

"It's a nice day out, isn't it?" The princess tilted her head, purposely allowing the left side of her dress to fall lower on her arm. Beneath it revealed perfectly pale skin. "Will you care to go on a ride around town with me?"

Oblivious to the sliding clothes, Gon smiled apologetically. "I have something I need to do. Sorry."

Her attitude did an utter one-eighty. She glared. "Is it a girl?"

"Not really."

"Oh, Gon!" Palm burst out. Her eyes were close to tears. "Won't you reconsider the engagement? Soon I'll be queen. I'll excel at everything so you'll be proud to show me off, make love to you from day to night, and pay for anything you ever want! Just give me another chance. I promise to be a good wife!"

"I'm sure you will, Palm." He did his best not to frown. Leaving a crying girl wasn't like him but he had no choice. Gon began his trek in the opposite direction.

Not a moment later did he turn back to give another wave goodbye. "Just not to me."

The boy skillfully leapt over the vine-ridden ground. After leaving the horse by the border and thanking him for all the hard work, he was forced to tread the rest of the way on foot. Those who've met Gon knew running and climbing were his forte. Yet his aunt still chose to go on her own. The fatigue she felt just a week before were nothing to him. Within three days he was on the edge of the town gates.

His boots splashed in a puddle by the entrance. This place was very weird. It was the definition of the two extremes. Children who had not bathed in weeks called him over for a game of catch. Half-starved mothers watched on with some of the brightest smiles he had ever seen. Meanwhile others crawled in chains, never looking his way. A sewer line appeared. Then, the dry singing and smell of urine turned to classical music. There was a distinct thud, thud, thudding of ballet shoes. The boy focused on getting to the palace. That was where the roses grew.

It soon grew cold. Gon allowed a shiver and hugged his robe tighter. Sure enough, after trekking through what looked to be an endless river of blue roses, a towering red door emerged. He knocked once, twice, waited, and again. No one answered.

Night seemed to come faster all of a sudden. _Maybe they can't hear me?_ Gon decided to make his way to a back door somewhere, hoping that whoever was inside could even give him a place to stay along with the antidote. He didn't have much money. But his strength and valor would be enough to work a day to pay it off.

There was no door; no windows amongst his reach that he could knock on. But in the distance, he spotted a rundown shed. It was repulsive. Gon didn't care and immediately ran to it. Any escape from the wind was a paradise to him. He knew he was intruding. The unknown of whether the residents were good people fueled his excitement. After a swing of the creaky hatch, he dropped to the much cozier ground with a laugh. This could be fun!

A noise of wood against gravel, and Gon jumped to his feet.

"Come on, seriously? Another one!" The boy took out a lantern and match, blinding the claustrophobic room in a warm light. He didn't need it to see, but the fire certainly made it easier, especially for the unusual sight before him. On the opposite wall stood a plump man. Blood and cobwebs littered his clothes. But what stood out was his face, empty sockets and nothing but dark holes for eyes. Streaks of red spilled down his rotted cheeks.

"Be patient, Leorio. We have to give them all a chance." A female voice this time. Gon moved the light slightly to what appeared to be a woman with brown hair and green eyes. She was probably drop-dead gorgeous at one time. Now bones protruded at bad angles in random parts of her body. Her neck, the knee, even some patches of her stomach where a part of an intestine was showing.

Gon tilted his head. "Hello."

They both looked at him, a bit bewildered at his lack of panic. "Uh, hi."

Awkward silence.

"I'm sorry for intruding on your property. I just need-"

"Let me guess." The man spoke. To Gon's surprise, he rose right off the ground and was in front of him in the blink of an eye. Through the flame of the lantern, Gon could see the other wall right through their bodies. "You're known as the strongest, mightiest, and bravest man of your land. On the way back from freeing another orphanage and refusing countless proposals, you were chosen by the king to venture to Dentora to slay the demon that rumors say have the whole kingdom in hostage. But that's not the real kicker! You either agreed for the fame and money, or rumors of the most beautiful but now missing princess who resided here to become your bride, right?!"

Gon gaped. "Wow, that's a cool story! Where did you come up with that, mister?"

"Wait. You're not here to do all that stuff?"

When the boy shook his head, the brunette woman decided to speak. "I apologize for the oaf standing next to me." The oaf sent a kick; it was blocked. "So, do you mind if I ask how we may help you?"

"Oh, right." Gon stopped long enough in his ogling at meeting real living zombies to bring out a clear bag. In it, a lone glimmering green rose lay. "My aunt was here a week ago and took this rose from your garden. It's poisoned her. Roses don't grow where I live so I was wondering if there was a cure."

"To be honest, roses had not begun growing here until a year ago when the whole castle disappeared. Still, poisoning someone, I have never heard of that happening before." She brought a half-exposed finger to her chin. Gon deflated. "But if you're just looking for _a_ cure, I may know one. You remember the monster living in the castle that this man beside me was talking about?"

Hopeful, Gon nodded.

"It's said that the eyes of such a mythical beast can cure all illnesses. No matter if it's a common cold or the recipient is on the brink of death, they will be fine the very next day. If you slay it and bring the pupils back for your aunt to eat, all her wounds will be healed."

"That sounds amazing."

"Exactly." For the first time, the woman smiled. "That's another reason so many have come to try and rid this kingdom of the beast. Just imagine how many riches you can buy from a miracle."

"I don't care about that." Gon turned. "Thank you! Uh…"

"Kurapika." She answered, "and he's Leorio. We were once occupants of this castle."

"Okay! My name is Gon." Without wasting a moment, he collected his things, bolting out the cabin. "Thanks Kurapika and Leorio." And was gone into the garden.

It was a moonlit night; same as all the others but to three signaled the one year anniversary since the Zoldyck family's downfall. Soon, in under a month it would become the Zoldyck Kingdom's extinction. The dead cook's body which now resided the spirit of the royal doctor turned. A patch of skin fell off. Beside him, a once up and coming scholar stuck in the bloody corpse of a murdered fiancée didn't say a word.

"Hey." He jabbed. "What did you go and do that for?"

Kurapika stared out a window. It was a beautiful sight outside. He let a humorless chuckle escape his dying throat. "I was just answering his questions. Not once did I lie. If fate is so cruel that Killua murders him without a thought, I don't think this kingdom is worth saving anymore."

"You're always so depressing."

-H-H-H-H-H-H-

The sky grew foggy.

That didn't slow him down. Gon decided to try knocking on the front door one more time. Only if there was still no one there, he would resort to climbing up the walls. After all, breaking a window or sneaking through the chimney would damage the building. He didn't want to ruin such a nice castle just for being too impatient to let someone answer the door, right? It made enough sense to him.

Though the maze of vines and roses, what he didn't expect to find was a girl. Same age as him and hair in many pigtails, she was standing worriedly on the pebble steps. It wasn't until he got closer when he realized she was probably foreign.

That was when he made a misstep. A heel snapped the stick in front of him in two, and she whirled to face him. A sword stood between them. "Who are you, a palace guard?"

"I'm not here to fight." Gon thought quickly, held both hands up, and dropped his bag to the ground. "And no, I just got here too."

Wearily, she sheathed her sword. Then took a step back, still uneasy.

"I'm Gon! Nice to meet you." He tried to break the ice by sticking a hand out. She didn't take it. Gon was utterly confused. Were people in Dentora so untrusting? He decided to try a different approach. "My aunt was here a few days ago but was poisoned by one of the plants. I'm trying to find a cure."

"My name…" Contrary to how she continually backed away, her voice came out confident. Confident and doubtful. But, faced with Gon's full blown smile, she was forced to stop. This man wasn't dangerous. Actually, at this moment he was the one who should be cowering. The girl let out a sigh.

"My name is Canary. I was a worker here a little under 8 years ago but was exiled from the country for…" She seethed, "unfair conditions. I had only heard about what happened to the Zoldyck castle a few days ago. Now I need to find someone, then I will be on my way. If you inform anyone that I am not supposed to be here I will have you beheaded!"

"Someone…? Maybe I can help."

"Didn't you hear me? I had to sneak into the country. You'll become a criminal if you help me."

Gon laughed and scratched his head. "No problem. I kind of snuck in too."

"A-Alright."

They both stood at the door. A forth knock and once more, no answer. Gon suggested that he climb up to the second floor and break through a window, but Canary stopped him. "That won't work. This castle's windows and frames are made of the strongest material in the land. Only super human strength can even leave a dent on them."

It was after a few moments of thought that they decided to try one of the back exits she remembered hidden behind a second gate. Unlike the windows, the spell had morphed iron steel fence into rotted wood. It could easy be ascended. But, lo and behold, the door was buried in a pile of dirt. Now, this wasn't a normal pile. It more resembled an escalated mountain which reached the skies. Gon took his fishing rod out as Canary unsheathed her sword to try to dig their way under. They were both skilled enough to move around some mud. It was a silly looking task, and would take many hours more.

"Have you ever heard the story?" Sometime during their work, Canary spoke.

"The story…?"

"Yes." She wiped sweat off her brow. "The story of a little girl who lived here. She was born ugly. In Dentora, that's known as the biggest sin."

"That's a stupid sin."

"I agree." Canary smiled. "But we're the only ones who think that way. She had four brothers, all of which excelled her in beauty and talent. No one knew she existed because her parents were too ashamed."

Gon interrupted. "Is she the one you're looking for?"

"You could say that I was exiled for being her friend, so yes. I planned to surprise her on her seventeenth birthday today, only to find this. Just as well, it was never much of a celebration. Her family believed her birth was the cause of the King's father's death a month later. For that, she was known as a demon. And always alone."

Silence engulfed them. It was then that Gon realized the tale was over. He slowed in his digging. A hard frown deformed the cheerful face. "That wasn't a very happy story, Canary."

"It's because it's true, that it's not happy."

"I don't think that."

The rest of the early morning went by in silence. The two seemingly frail teenagers worked through sunrise to uncover the door. But something was off. As the hours passed, Gon felt himself grow sleepy. Not only sleepy, feverish too. His boundless endurance would normally be off the charts. Yet for reasons unknown the two slowed significantly, but still continued on. They both believed it to be for a worthy cause.

By the next sunset, Gon was halfway through uprooting a tree in the way and planting it somewhere else when he was near collapsing. Perhaps they should take a break. He was about to suggest it. Then, tragedy struck.

An arrow the size of a head, fire upholding its path flew in. Canary had her back turned, sword discarded too many feet away. Gon was on the other side of the courtyard. The moment when neither moved. That was when they realized just how fatigued they were.

All he could see was a flash, all he could hear was a scream, and when he ran to the opposite end, an ugly horned projectile was impaled right through her mid-section.

He stomped out the fire.

"Canary! Are you-" Another arrow came in. Gon flung his fishing pole. Wire hung to the shaft, he tightened the rod. Spinning his own body, he managing to send it right back. The sudden force of the twirl put out the flame. That counter attack seemed to do the trick and the barrage halted. He heard the sound of a single horse's hoofs not too far away.

"You a-are called Gon, correct?"

Gon looked beneath at the sound of his name. Canary was choking. He brought out a cloth from his bag to wrap around her wound but there was just too much blood. "Stop, it's okay. I-If…"

"You'll bleed more if you keep talking!" He tried demanding.

"If you ever…meet that girl, please save her." The trotting closed in, her body grew frail, and she knew they didn't have much time left. With one last breath, she nearly screamed. "S-Save Killua-sama!"

Just like that, Canary went limp.

Gon sat rigid. Blood covered his trousers, the smell of sweat perspired from the both of them. Yet, all he could think of was why he couldn't do anything. _Not a single thing._ The hoofs stopped. He instinctively knew they were no longer alone.

"Haha, so you're the one who showed that magnificent skill with the fishing rod? How entertaining. However, I assume you are one of the demon's lackeys. You must die as well." The boy stood to face an attractive blond man in armor, black stallion ridden in gold and mighty weaponry strapped to every inch of his body. There was almost an ethereal glow coming from them. Any other scenario and Gon would've been amazed. He looked to be the kind of hero Leorio talked about in his story. But now, he was far from it.

"Why," Gon took a breath. They stood several meters apart. "Why did you kill my friend?"

"Oh," the man seemed amused. He chirped, "I suppose between skilled warriors, you deserve an introduction."

"My name is Pariston Hill, slayer of 914 cursed spirits of the sword and 470 beasts raging over poor towns. After finishing my training in the valiant volcanos in Meteor and travelling for over a year, I have returned to save the Kingdom! I am also fiancé to the missing princess Zoldyck."

"Is that all you care about?"

"Huh?"

"You murdered my friend!" Pariston blinked. Gon was suddenly inches from his neck.

The warrior reacted quickly. A blade met the boy's father's fishing pole in a violent clash. Unfortunately due to Pariston's much larger stature the other was sent flying. Boots met gravel. A stray rock cut him on the arm. Sweat dripped. His eyes still felt heavy. Gon was exhausted. _Why?_ He was about to charge again when a fluid howl hit the floor.

On cue, Pariston brought out his bow and aimed it at the sound. A blur of white shot towards them. A smirk grew on his handsome face. This was going to be too easy. He launched the arrow.

It was caught between a gangly pinky and thumb.

Only a second after, and the renowned unbreakable arrow was snapped in two. Seeing this, Pariston froze. A realization hit him like a pail of icy water.

This was no normal demon. It was an _absolute monster_.

"RUN, MONSTER!" With a great slap against his stallion, the horse neighed and sprinted into the forest. The bravest warrior Pariston, slayer of 914 cursed spirits of the sword and 470 beasts raging over poor towns was gone, tail between his legs.

Gon was left staring at the scaly back of the so called monster. His vision was growing blurry. But he managed to keep his eyes open. The animal paid him no mind, instead opting to slowly scramble towards Canary's corpse on the other side of the garden. It sniffed, nudged. The action confused him. Then, an epiphany hit like a ton of bricks.

In moonlight, he nearly gasped at the beautiful stone cold eyes pointed his way.

"You…" It breathed. "_You killed her._"

-H-H-H-H-H-H-

It was a miserable thundering afternoon when the peaceful lodge was touched. Carriage left at home and cape worn to hide her true identity, one dark silhouette easily barged in on the unlocked home. The weather left the streets abandoned. She was in no fear of being caught.

The best doctor of their village, renowned for curing even the most horrific bodies of mythical beasts, claimed Mito to be in a coma. One which she would neither wake nor die from. Most assumed her nephew to be in distraught. Gon was too much of a loyal boy, they would say. Instead the young lad had disappeared seven days ago today.

She was desperate to find out where he had run off, even if it meant forcing him to marry her in the process.

Palm broke through a dusty supply closet, looking for clues. How many buckets did they have? She moved them away with a disgusted look. She was just about to search Gon's room when her ears picked up a sound. Heart nearly stopped. She rushed out of the room, a bag of her parents' magic between her fingers lest it was necessary. Relief filled her when all she was met with was a stirring red head in the corner.

Dropping her things, she knew the always distressed aunt was on the princess' side over her own nephew, she rushed towards Mito unarmed. Something wasn't right. The doctor clearly stated there was no hope of recovering on her own. Just as well, this would make finding Gon a lot easier.

"Miss Mito?" Palm whispered. Mito opened a lazy eye; she turned, brightening at the sight of her would-be daughter-in-law.

"I-It's you, Palm-chan." Golden eyes radiated self-indulgence. Even Palm felt sick to look at them. "Thank goodness you're here. Did Gon finally change his mind?"

The princess shook her head. A second later and she nearly squeaked at the deterring face then shot at her. It looked out of place on Mito's usually comforting presence. One couldn't help but wonder what had happened to change the woman in front of her so drastically.

Then again, this lady's troubles weren't her concern.

Mito shakily brought a hand to her lids. "That idiot boy."

"Don't say that," Palm thought quickly. "Gon is a wonderful person. He's merely confused. Sense will come to him soon enough. I'll make sure of it."

"Oh, Palm. Thank you for putting up with him. You will be such a wonderful daughter." The rest was easy.

"The problem is that he's been missing ever since you fell ill. Do you have any idea where he might've gone?" Mito looked perplexed for a moment, but as memories came back to her hazy mind, realization hit her like a spider's web. Then, worry. It almost hurt to go through so many mood changes in one minute.

Palm let herself be pulled down. Nails nearly digging into the princess' shoulders, Mito stared at her firmly. "I know exactly where he went, but his life may be in danger. Please save him and I promise you his hand in marriage."

The princess smiled. She had her right where she wanted.

-H-H-H-H-H-H-

**Here's the first part out of two for Beauty and the Beast. I'm sorry that it's so long. The second will probably be longer.**

**Please leave a review to tell me if you liked it!**


	7. Beauty and the Beast II

Disclaimer: I don't own HunterXHunter or Beauty and the Beast. Weird things would happen if I did.  
Author: Butterfree  
Fairy Tale: Beauty and the Beast  
Genre/Rating: Romance, Drama, Fantasy / T  
WARNINGS: Fem! Killua

**Beauty and the Beast (Part II of II)**

Gon had woken to an unpleasant smell attacking his nose. Through the darkness, decaying bodies littered the floor. A line of red scaled down, staining the cold stone behind it an ugly brown, before being eaten by a steel ventilator on the ground. Covering his nostrils with a sleeve, he groaned. _What happened?_

Cold eyes, gaudy armor, an annoying laugh, and suddenly black.

Somehow, he had fainted in the middle of it all.

The boy wiped his head up a bit too quickly and felt sore all over. It took a moment to realize that the fever he had been feeling the past day had not gone away. Now he was in a dungeon. It was strange. But he didn't feel like an inmate. His bleeding wound had been treated. Ging's fishing rod was suspiciously placed on the opposite wall. As if the one who threw him in here could sense how much it meant to him.

When he gathered enough energy to stand, the first thing he did was try to break the bars through with it. Not even a scratch. Then he chanted a spell, to channel colossal strength into his arm for one single blow. The wall didn't budge. He coughed. Nothing, and there sat Gon utterly perplexed.

Hours passed and not much changed. Gon felt slightly less feverish and lay thinking of a way to get out. A faulty pipeline, digging a hole, he assumed he would escape somehow, not be released. This was why he jumped to his feet when the ratty door opened.

A silver animal walked in. Gon had never seen anything like it. The last time they met he had been half conscious. This was his first chance to get a good look at the one who jumped in between the fight. With a tail the size of an alligator's and scales which shined from the light outside, he had no other word for it than…_pretty?_ He could tell she was female right away.

He tried opening his mouth. Perhaps they could be friends? But before he had the chance to talk, a dirty pail and clothe were chucked his way. She demanded he wipe the upper floor.

He didn't protest. Gon went to work without a word. Only when he finished a day and a half later were his muscles finally allowed to sleep. But he didn't get a bed or blanket. Instead the boy was called back in the cell by the same beast, nothing but water and bread to feed him. A bucket filled with cold water was his shower that night.

The following two weeks were the same. He improved and became faster as time went by. His assigned work did too. Floors expanded larger and contained more corners the higher they went, each taking longer and getting harder as he was told to clean each one. Not once did the animal give a thank you.

Gon assumed he was her slave now.

On some days he'd run into the great white monster that everyone feared. She would spare a glance. It felt like she had something to say. He looked back, before they went on their way. At first, Gon had tried making friends with her. It was almost like his words went from in one ear and out the other. He deflated. People usually liked him right away.

The kitchen was the worst. It alone took three days. In boredom, he recalled stormy nights back at their lodge. They meant hours spent cleaning without Mito's help. She was too busy at her job at the bar. He packed his supplies once everything sparkled. Then made his way to his new home in the prison cell. Being alone wasn't anything new to him either. Clammy and by himself there; clammy and by himself here.

Until, one day, the beast couldn't take it anymore.

Gon dodged a cabinet thrown his way by a mere inch. It landed right on the wet pail, spilling all his hard work back onto the floor. He wanted to shout back, only to be grabbed by the collar.

His eyes widened at the yellow claw lifting him up. "Why don't you just _ATTACK ME ALREADY_?!"

Her crackled voice boomed against the walls. And he was hurled against a bronze statue. Body hit metal. A normal person would have every rib in their chest broken. He could feel a painful bruise forming. A mirror came at him this time. Gon jumped away just in time from a rain of stray glass. The one at his heels refused to let up, tossing stone and chairs at him until they were both perched against a rickety staircase. The structure looked ready to crumble.

Yet, even as he managed to run to her backside, an obvious blind spot, he didn't strike.

"Don't you understand?" She stabbed, Gon jumped over her. Now Killua was closer to the teetering edge. It looked like the perfect dodge. "I can do anything with you. I can make you work, sell you off, bring a knife to your throat as I cut your limbs one by one; even enslave you until your last dying breath!"

"You won't do that!"

Killua narrowed her eyes. A streak of blood suddenly appeared on Gon's cheek. "I'm _merciless_."

Their fight went to a standstill. It was then he realized she was letting out what she had been meaning to say this whole time. Gon calmed himself down. "Slaying the beast and becoming a hero is a better life than this. Plot your disgusting scheme just to be killed, like all the others. Because I'm dying to _slay _you."

"You bandaged my wound." For the first time, Gon saw her falter. And he knew it was true.

Killua, meanwhile, panicked. She didn't mean to do it. But his honest eyes at the time made him look like the most amazing person she had ever seen. Better than any princes. That was when she decided to enslave him. Canary's death would be avenged the moment a seed of hatred was planted in his brain. She could laugh when it happened. But it never did.

The beast stepped closer to the edge. This had to stop. She couldn't be fooled by his appearance. That was her downfall. She nearly convinced herself to lunge for another blow. Then, the last thing the trapped princess expected to hear came from his mouth.

"I don't know how to do it. But I promised I'd save you, Killua!"

The staircase collapsed.

-H-H-H-H-H-H-

After what felt like a nightmare, Killua shot up.

She regretted doing so right after. A throbbing pain spread from the right side of her temple to her disfigured toes. She could only assume that a nasty scar was forming. The beast managed to open one eye, shocked at the feeling of cloth covering where the wound should be. She should be on the chapel floor, not lying in her room. That was impossible.

"You're finally awake. I knew that wouldn't keep you down." Killua heightened her senses. A man, fat and in a chef hat completed with apron was beside her. It was just Leorio. She relaxed. Then tensed again. _Wait, Leorio?_

"Haven't you been eating at all, your Highness?" A voice she hated so much just a year ago but now sounded like a mother to her approached. Killua moved ever so slightly to face the bowl of chicken soup being forced into her hands. It was warm.

"K-Kurapika, Leorio…" A spoon was forced into her wolf-like jaw. She spat it out. "You two came out?"

The doctor smiled; something she had not seen him do in ages. And she couldn't help but smile back.

Not a month after Killua's horrible transformation, she was officially alone. The last person who talked to her was a blind woman who lived in the attic and spun yarn into the late hours of the night, never stopping. She was the only employee who didn't run, still calling Killua princess and making the coziest jackets for the royal family. It was lonely then, but bearable. Then, one night, she passed away from old age. It was the biggest loss the princess felt since the death of her tutor and doctor.

Curled up against the fireplace the following night, Killua was reminded of the fiancée and cook she had murdered in what seemed like ages ago. She decided to give all three corpses a proper cremation. The old lady had no relative listed in her files. So she went into the flames without consultation. When the other two's turn came, Killua had leapt to the opposite wall at the sight of them talking. It turns out Bisuke had taken pity. Seeing two adults who cared for the Princess so much, she gave them second chances as well.

That was the happiest moment of Killua's life. Or at least, it was supposed to be.

Kurapika and Leorio were different since they were reborn.

They were cold, indifferent, not mean, but void at the same time. Killua had wanted to hang out with them again, maybe even think of a way out of their mess. But instead, the two had locked themselves in the shed. When she searched, they disappeared. It was her sixth time trying when Killua was told she was only allowed to visit them once a month, one night at a time. It wasn't a condition Bisuke had set. Simply something they thought would be for the princess' own good.

Killua twitched when Leorio's smile merged into a smirk. "Yeah well, when your boyfriend looks so upset, we can't just tell him to go away. Now can we?"

Kurapika tugged on the cook's mustache so Leorio would be quiet. "Gon went into town to buy some antibiotics. The cut you sustained is growing into an infection."

She flinched._ That's right. Rocks, stairs, the fight._

Gon had managed to grab hold of a half broken windowsill, body hanging and his fishing pole left long forgotten 15 floors above him. It was a straight climb up, a challenge. But she had it a lot worse. Her one quarter ton weight and swift legs were unstoppable outside where treetops grew and mountainside resided. Indoors every picture frame or tile she latched on to snapped easily. Gon realized this too late. His sprint down the shaft was not quick enough. Before he could reach her, a sickening snap came from where her head met a passing railing, breaking the whole structure into pieces.

In the end, she was the one unconscious, giving him a perfect opportunity to kill her right then and there. He didn't.

Killua looked up.

"D-Did you two tell him my name?"

Leorio and Kurapika caught each other's eye, confused. They shook their heads. "We didn't tell him anything."

Killua went silent. That man didn't know she was the princess, what had happened to the kingdom, and the conditions of the curse. He said so himself. Yet he spewed some speech about saving her? _How weird. _But it made her…happy. "What did you say his name was?"

"Why don't you ask him?" This time, Kurapika smirked. The look didn't suit him.

She was about to retort, when the loud creak of the front doors interrupted them. With it, they expected to hear the frantic footsteps of a sincere man running up the rotting steps. They did, but following them were giggles. _Female giggles._

"Oh, Gon-kun. How valiant of you!" One sounded.

"What a huge place! So you're allowed in here?" Two.

"Could you tell us about that time you met Kon again?" Freaking three women.

Killua flinched. The image of Gon with countless girls hanging off his arm didn't seem so farfetched. He _was_ good-looking, with a charming personality to boot. That's before taking his strength and agility into account. An ugly selfish beast such as her seemed the last thing he'd choose.

She couldn't stop herself. As soon as the voices rounded the corner, she roared. A bed was thrown, the ground shook, and the chandelier above them fell right into the center of the room. Everyone at the entrance save Gon bolted to the door. Screams of "that wretched demon!" and "a monster!" echoed in their wake. In the commotion, Gon dropped one of the two bottles in his hands. It shattered.

Red eyes bulging and spit thrown every way, Killua marched up to him and hissed. "What do you think you're doing?"

Confused, Gon held the second bottle up. "I was getting your medicine. Speaking of that, you shouldn't be up and throwing things until you get better!"

"You think you can tell me what to do? After acting like the knight and bringing three women for your own sick pleasure!" Killua slapped the bottle out of his hands, purposely scratching Gon's palm in the process. Leorio, who was standing nearby, caught it but quickly stepped away. Kurapika watched, speechless. Neither had ever seen the princess act this way.

"What are you talking about, Killua?!" He was starting to get agitated.

"This castle is not your play area." She stepped closer but Gon wasn't backing down. A year, a whole year and two weeks of pent up hatred for the world spilled out at that instant. "Don't spout nonsense about saving me when you're the same as all of them. You only care about-"

"MY play area?!" Gon fumed. "All I'm trying to do is help you by bringing over some girls I thought you'd want to be friends with. But you scare them away and blame it all on me!"

Killua tried to retort. But couldn't think of anything to say.

"You're not a monster. But if you keep living that way, you really will be alone!" The door slammed.

They stood, not a word spoken for a whole minute. Walking to the upturned bed, she flipped it back and lay down. Leorio gently removed her bandages, applying the antibiotics through a needle. Meanwhile, Kurapika bent over the shattered glass to clean it up. He read the description to himself.

"Hey," Leorio tried. The addressed growled. "Maybe you should invite him to dinner. You know, uh…to apologize."

"He could've been lying." He dropped a pin.

"You think Gon can lie?"

She snorted. "It doesn't matter."

"Killua." The doctor said, this time much more firmly. "Apologize to him."

The beast was beginning to lose patience. She just wanted to go back to being alone, lost of all hope and prepared for death already; not smothered by all these people out of nowhere. Why did they have to be so…_difficult_. "When he comes to me, I'll think about it."

"Look, Killua. I know you used to be a princess. Everyone here knows. Whoop-de-doo! We all did what you asked. But this is real life we're talking about! Right now, your rank doesn't matter." Leorio breathed. "…Do you want to live or not?!"

Leorio blinked. Suddenly he was faced with yellow tinted eyes. A sign that the beast was ready to pounce. He almost feared for his life.

"You're just saying that to save yourself-"

_SLAP!_

Killua's eyes widened. Leorio jumped back. All he could take in was the sight of a brunette, hand high in the air. Blood marks on the palm indicated just how forceful he had struck her. Before either could react, the scholar shoved the top half of a broken bottle in Killua's face.

"Do you know what this is?!" They blinked.

"It's a phial of phoenix blood; one of the rarest and most expensive medicines in the world. Almost extinct in today's world. To protect themselves, their blood is lethal if anyone but a human drinks it. But boiled in medium heat and ingested properly it can otherwise either bring extended youth or cure any natural _poisoning_."

"W-What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying, your _highness_." Kurapika cringed at the title in distaste, "that Gon has a doomed aunt. You would know if you stopped screeching or throwing things at him for about 20 seconds. He has every right to hate you."

"Yet he still probably spent his entire life savings to keep from having to murder you for the cure."

Killua averted her eyes to the green puddle on the floor. It was quickly turning into ash.

Kurapika sighed. He brought one hand to the bridge of his nose. Frustration couldn't begin to describe the tension in the room. "Killua. Love isn't the same as that sick infatuation those other men felt for you. You have to work for it."

"It's disgusting."

The two recoiled. They engrossed Killua's pained smirk.

"All that old hag did was match my outside to my insides, after all."

Leorio patted her back, smiling. "Then why don't we change that?"

A few minutes later and Killua found herself kicked out of her own room. Both Kurapika and Leorio forbad her from coming back until she apologized to Gon, invited him to dinner, and paid him back somehow. Otherwise Leorio would haunt her in the afterlife while Kurapika suggested enforcing 15 hour per day study sessions. She had to chuckle at her situation. Seventeen years old, once a princess, now a beast more than twice their weight and they would always be like her parents.

She spotted that spikey head of hair half an hour later. Out of all places, she found him in a section of the attic where almost no one ventured to back when the castle had occupants. It was therefore a playground for her as a child. Despite the memories, she hadn't been here in ages.

Killua made herself known. She expected Gon to notice, even yell at her right away, but his focus was on something in his hands. A photograph he had found wedged in between a black cabinet and lighting fixture was clutched in them. Fed up at the lack of response, Killua snuck over his shoulder to see what he was staring at so intently. She stopped.

On the dusty page sat deformed teeth and frizzled hair next to a younger version of Canary. Photos were expensive back when Killua was given minimum allowance. Deciding to take the picture, they used to treasure the funny shot. It was the only photo they had of their time together, eight years ago. Before Bisuke's first spell.

Faced with those unreadable brown eyes, Killua panicked.

"Was this you?" Gon was oblivious to her inner turmoil.

Her broad shoulders drooped. There was no point in lying. She nodded.

"You were really cute!"

"E-Eh?"

"I wish we could've met back then. You seemed so happy with Canary." It was then he turned fully and Killua could see that he wasn't judging her at all. For some reason, a complete look of mourning hit her. She gaped slightly when he bowed. "I'm sorry I couldn't save her."

"You didn't kill her…" Killua trailed. When he shook his head, it only made her feel ten times worse. Why did Gon have to be so kind? _I don't deserve it…_ Why did he have to apologize? It should've been her. Killua needed to find a way to apologize. A simple sorry.

Funny; never once since she turned ten did she have to utter that word. No one asked it of her until now. _Come on, it can't be that hard!_

"I…I'm…" _sorry._

At the last second, she chickened out and blurted. "I want to show you something."

Gon tilted his head. Killua felt embarrassed when she motioned him to climb her back. He didn't decline. His rugged boots and coarse arms against her thick fur felt comforting. When she leapt out the closest window, he had the goofiest grin on his face. Then, as they landed on the roof and Gon gaped at the colors of the sunset falling, she had to force herself to look away. He had no idea how he seemed to _glow_. Eventually, a comfortable silence overcame them.

"I shouldn't have said those things."

Killua finally made eye contact and realized he was focused on her now. She gulped, looking down. "Stop feeling bad, moron. I'm the one who…with the fight, then getting angry, and the phoenix blood."

Gon smiled. "It's okay."

She rebutted. "No it's not! I mean…I don't understand what's happening with your Aunt, but she must be way more important to you than me. After all, we barely know each other."

"Killua…" Gon frowned but soon came up with an idea. He beamed. "My name is Gon Freecss, nice to meet you!"

She blinked. A smile slowly formed on her face. "Killua Zoldyck."

"My aunt's name is Mito. She came here a few weeks ago. I have a grandmother too but I never met her. She was working in the top floor of this castle to pay for sending us off to Azian. Mito and I were planning on travelling back to take her with us but things…didn't work out." Gon paused, contemplating if he should talk about Palm, but decided against it. She was no longer a part of his life. "We ended up in an argument. She said grandma would never want to see me so left me behind. Mito brought a green rose from your garden back as a gift, but it poisoned her."

Killua thought. She remembered such a strange woman stumbling in the garden, but something else struck her harder. "Was your grandmother Misses Freecss, the tailor?"

"Yeah! Do you know what happened to her?"

"She died."

Gon deflated. He didn't know grandma. Yet an aching feeling of disappointment nagged against his skull. He was so excited to meet her. The last survivor of his family. He was thinking of how to tell Mito when Killua poked him in the shoulder.

"You know what she always did?" She shrugged comfortingly. "Every night, she told anyone who would listen a story about the time her grandson almost died of hypothermia until our ears bled. She became known as the crazy old lady in the attic who wouldn't be quiet so we could sleep! If that wasn't enough, she woke three hours before her shift each morning to knit a scarf that stretched over the mountains. When asked who the scarf was for, she'd tell the story all over again. One day, a needle accidentally wedged into her eye. She became blind, but claimed to live a happy life."

Remembering the kind lady who would smile and play checkers with her, a beast, until the very hour her corpse was thrown into the flames, Killua chuckled. "Your aunt is wrong. Until her last breath, she didn't stop thinking about you, Gon."

Before she knew it, chocolate brown eyes were glued to her. The sunset long forgotten, to the point that Killua was forced to look away once more. A blush formed on her white cheeks. "W-What?"

"Thank you, Killua." She turned to him, shocked. He risked touching her elbow tenderly with the back of his hand. She didn't snap. "You're the first person who's ever said that to me."

Killua faced down. Through the loud flapping of the butterflies in her stomach, she could make out the gritty silhouette of deformed fingers. She tried curling them in, imitating a normal human's hand, but the claws dug into her palm much too painfully. They hardened in her lap. "Gon, stop."

He let go. Both ignored the disappointment at the missing contact. "Stop what?"

"All this…courtesy and gratitude towards someone like me," she breathed. It was strange, playing the good guy; worrying about someone else. "It'll degrade you. You'll be taken down with me."

"For treating you like my friend?" When she didn't answer, Gon continued. "Killua, I don't understand this country very much. But you're one of the most amazing people I've met. I definitely want to get to know you more!"

"Oh." She couldn't understand it. Why Gon could just say whatever was on his mind so freely. She wanted to ask so many things back: about how he was the amazing one, not her, that he should reconsider everything, not be so bold and blind and utterly _pure_. In the end, all she could manage were a few pitiful words. "If you don't mind getting to know an ugly monster."

"What are you talking about? I think you're really pretty!"

Killua gasped. And when Gon leaned closer, confused at her reaction, the beast stepped back embarrassed. He shook it off. A new determination fueled his mind. "You know, now I'll definitely save you!"

"Idiot. S-Stop saying such embarrassing things."

-H-H-H-H-H-H-

Both were oblivious to a bug placed precariously on a pipeline right underneath them. A grasshopper under a tracking spell slept on as the person listening through it let out a cheeky grin.

"Killua Zoldyck…? Does this mean the divine princess of Dentora who could waver five hundred thousand men to her bidding was right in front of me the whole time?" They stepped back, in deep thought. Just as quickly, a plan formed in their mind. The wizard of darkness could easily identify what curse is enslaving this castle.

-H-H-H-H-H-H-

"Dinner party…?" Gon tasted the word in his mouth. It sounded delicious. A party was something he didn't think he'd ever have the thrill of going to again since calling off the engagement. At the same time, memories pertaining to tight ties, a giggling flirty princess, and cocky guests made him cringe.

"No, a dinner. Just the two of us." Killua swallowed, feeling sheepish. She tried to act cool about it all. Her tail curled against a wall. Eyes dead set on the spot in front of her to avoid looking at him. "Y-You know! To make up for all the bad things I've done to you. Kurapika's a good cook and Leorio can help out."

The moment when Gon turned away, gazing at the horizon in deep thought, was one of the scariest in Killua's life. She just knew he would reject the very idea. Bringing it up was probably one of the most repulsive things he'd ever heard. Her very appearance was offensive while he stood, astonishing, at least in her eyes. If Gon ran off saying he was done, done with everything, nothing would surprise her.

This junction spilling uncertainty was too unbearable. "It's alright if you don't want to, just say it."

"Can it be a dinner, just the two of us, because we feel like it instead?"

"Huh?" And there it was again, Killua felt all warm inside. "S-Sure."

"Then okay! I'd love to come." Gon sent over a bright grin. Illuminated by the sun's final rays, it was one that made the princess' heart beat faster. _How cheesy._ Killua ignored it in favor for scampering away. Yelling one final shout about not being late before hiding herself back in the castle. She knew he could find a way down on his own.

"Well?" Arms crossed, Leorio was bursting with anticipation. He blocked the way into her room. "How did it go?"

Killua looked away. A miracle would be tagged if no red was showing on her face right now. "He said yes."

The white-haired girl wasn't sure what happened next. Something along the lines of cheers, being tied to a chair, several baths where she actually found herself thanking heavens that her body represented more of a hyena than woman, shampoo, bubbles, too many assortment of brushes, and her first real grooming in over a year done by Kurapika himself hit her all at once. Killua already told them the dinner wasn't until tomorrow. Yet for some reason they both felt the need to go through a dumb trial run.

The princess was never a fan of this kind of stuff, as a child or teenager. Spontaneous thoughts of ways to take her mind off the smell of vanilla laced pine cones came naturally to that wandering mind. They ranged from what she ate yesterday, to that rotting wall that was falling over. Ultimately, they all ended in what's happened the past few hours, and Gon.

Ask him to dinner, check. Apologize to him, sort of. Do something to make it up to him…

Killua cursed under her breath. _He deserves that much, at least._

"Alright, done!" Killua blinked. Somehow she was now seated on her bed, fur primed and towel covering her body. She was pretty sure she blinked and missed it all. But something told her it was because her mind was too preoccupied on a certain black-haired teenager. She abandoned the idea with a huff.

When the time came to pick a dress, Killua nearly had it. She told the two men to open their eyes and realize anything she wore would make her look ridiculous. Like an alligator in high heels, but they ignored her. Instead Leorio excused himself to the darkest reaches of her old closet, pulling out a familiar gown with blue diamond silk accentuated with lace of gold. It was the same dress she had refused to wear to that ceremony a year ago.

"I look stupid." Killua faced the mirror. Lanky arms stuck out. The material itched her ruffled skin.

"You look fine." Kurapika argued back. Leorio leaned over to tie a royal blue ribbon next to her pointed ears that were, at the moment, strangely more kitten-like. Fixing the bit of hair above her eye line, the brunette whispered without thinking. "That's unusual…"

"What is it?" Her voice was lined with nerves.

Leorio reassured that nothing was wrong. They just noticed changes. For some reason Killua was only a forehead taller than the chef's body instead of the full shoulder height she was before. All the warts and boils which littered her face and arms were fading under pale now scale less skin. Hunchback straightening and jaw now resembling more of a monkey than wolf, it was miles easier to fit her in the dress than Kurapika had originally estimated. And when the scholar was wrong, it raised red flags.

"Perhaps this is a good sign that the curse is wearing off."

"Seriously?!" The chef bounced up, disbelieving grin and all. When Kurapika nodded, smile in place as well, they turned to Killua. Both expected to deal with a euphoric princess, blissful, nearly in a state of ecstasy to know that Gon truly was the one. It wasn't a small deal. It was something worth celebrating. That was what the two loyal servants proclaimed.

But, in the darkening lamp light, they conversed with an empty seat.

"Y-Your Highness?"

"Hey, when did she sneak out on us?" They searched the bathroom and behind the curtains; nothing.

"Leave her be." Kurapika's lip twitched. "Perhaps she's having second thoughts."

Leorio echoed. "Second thoughts…you can't be serious! We've been waiting seventeen years for this, and just when she finally finds a decent guy, is on the edge of saving everyone, and learns to grow up, she gets cold fee-"

"LEORIO." The doctor silenced. He had been on the pointed edge of Kurapika's lectures before and they weren't the best of experiences. It was only safe to stay on the other's good side; better said than done. To his surprise, though, he caught sight of the mistress's smile instead.

"Stop worrying. Trust me, if Killua put on that abominable dress for Gon, she must really like him."

Unlike what her most trusted servants thought, Killua wasn't getting cold feet. Far from it. She rushed to the king's treasure chamber, claws all but keeping the ruffles of her dress from smearing against the dirty floor. _Why did they have to design these to be so poof-y?_ It was impractical. Killua wanted nothing more than the rip the bottom half of her skirt off.

But no, if this was what she was wearing tomorrow, she couldn't ruin it now. She grumbled. But brought her focus back to the task at hand. The vault was protected by steel doors, their opening clamped shut. The only possible way in were fourteen 27 digit passwords that no one but her father knew. _Or a freaky superhuman monster._ Killua sharpened her shrinking nails, licked her lips, and then severed the metal block in two. The bottom half was chucked aside. _Too easy._

In the abandoned room was just that. Abandoned, with mold growing on the opposite walls where a dripping pipeline punctured through a crack. Once filled with gold and sectors for each child, the princess had not too long ago owned the largest pile of crowns and rare orbs. Now it was utterly cleaned out. It figures of all things her parents ran off with before dying would be the riches. Killua went right to work disrupting the upturned wood. Never in her life did this small bit of change mean so much as it did now. "Come on. There must have been some money they left behind!"

Two hours of digging, by now she didn't care that her dress was covered in cob webs, and Killua found it. A dusty bar of gold, hidden underneath a fallen statue and a meter of sand. She crouched, running a furry finger over it. It gleamed her reflection; something she could now look at without scowling. The grouchy girl didn't want to admit it was thanks to a certain boy. For the first time in what felt like ages, Killua let out a bright smile.

_Gon…this is how I'll repay you._

She threw on a brown cloak from the mud room near the front doors. The hood covered her face and sleeves reached inches below her wrists. Then, allowed herself to venture out. Now that her height had gone down and figure diminished, she could be mistaken for a human. This opened doors to endless possibilities.

The first thing she passed was an old fisherman, lounging near the riverside and half asleep. Immediately thoughts of spikey hair, green cape, and honey brown eyes overtook her mind. Normally she would shake the image away. Convinced that what she was doing was embarrassing, and something like love being more than skin deep was absolute foolishness. No, almost like she didn't _deserve _a love that was more than that.

Without consideration, Killua thought of Gon once more.

-H-H-H-H-H-H-

_Tick, tock...Tick, tock…_

A pot fell, Kurapika picked it up.

_Tick, tock...Tick, tock…_

Leorio imitated talking to his tie out of boredom. Why yes, he was having a nice day.

_Tick, tock...Tick, tock…_

"Where is he?!" Killua shot up. The chair behind fell to the floor, leg broken. Normally Kurapika would've chastised her for such a thing, but his mind was more focused on the other amplifying problem. He joined them at the table, silently shoving Leorio's legs off the counter.

"It's only been an hour, your Highness."

Leorio was halfway through losing patience as well. "You think the kid might've stood us up?!"

"Well, it's possible. We'll have to see."

"Why that little punk-!"

"No." Killua interrupted. They instantly clammed up. "Gon wouldn't do that. Something might've happened to him." Which was another way of saying 'I'm worried'.

"U-Yeah. Sorry, you're right." Leorio scratched his head, ashamed. "If he doesn't show up in another hour, Kurapika and I will go look for him."

"What about me?"

"You should stay here, just in case Gon arrives."

Dissatisfied but finding no argument against it, Killua agreed. They could only hope they didn't have to carry out this plan after all, that Gon would show up any minute with some ludicrous but valid excuse for his tardiness.

An hour later, Killua found herself alone.

As the half-dead, Kurapika and Leorio could cover all parts of the castle in record fast time. Both were efficient at levitating to higher ground while in the building, while having a bird's eye view of the garden and rooftop outside. It took twenty minutes to cover all ground. Neither heard a single cry for help or shuffling which indicated life. They returned, about to make themselves known. Only to discover Killua perched on another chair. She hadn't moved a centimeter since they left.

It was then they decided to double-check. More thoroughly the second time. Thirty minutes, and a triple-check. Kurapika and Leorio didn't want to believe it. This time they spent two hours scouring the house. Capsizing every pot to dusting every cranny, the house never sparkled as so.

Midnight came, passed.

At 3 AM in the morning, Killua still refused to move from her seat. The two tried to convince her to at least go to bed for now. That Gon definitely had some emergency to tend to and didn't have time to tell anyone. Still, the princess ignored them completely.

A knock sounded at their door. It was 6 o'clock in the morning. Killua jerked from her spot on the table. Roast beef sitting cold, forks long dropped to the floor, she didn't realize she had drifted off. Leorio and Kurapika were gone too. Disappearing was their way of sleeping, almost like they were taking a break from the world of the living. Still, she could sense their presence in the room. The two men were so worried they stayed with her.

She didn't want to force the two awake, so made a grab for the brown cloak once more. Whoever was here almost undoubtedly wanted a fight. It would be a nice distraction…from _things_.

Killua braced herself, unchained the lock, and swung the hinge wide open. She expected another muscle man, a good looking egomaniac. They would carry a sword as expensive as the cities. Hair likely tousled at an angle to always be wind-swept during combat. That was the epitome of what usually met her outdoors.

The opposite stood on the other side. Killua resisted the urge to stare, shock emanating from her body.

Gorgeous black hair which reached her waist, flawless skin, and a yellow-pink dress that showed curves without being too revealing. In the right light, existed an unarmed woman capable of _surpassing_ the old Killua in beauty. No one here had ever seen her before. The only conceivable excuse was that she was not from Dentora. But most of all, the shiny silver and gold carriage she rode in was worth millions. The beast didn't have the foggiest idea why someone such as her would be doing here.

She smiled warmly. "Hello. Is this the Zoldyck castle?"

Killua narrowed her eyes. "Yeah. Do you need something?"

Her mouth formed a perfect 'o'. Then, she reeled back. Killua went into an attack stance in case she pulled out a weapon. But the dazzling miss merely wore a gander of despair, almost as if she pitied the beast. "I know this is rude, but I presume you're female?"

"Yes. What does that have to do with anything?"

"May I come in? I just want to talk." She looked around. Through the bright rays of the sun, Killua could feel the humidity. And between her layers of fur it was getting uncomfortable. It couldn't hurt to move it somewhere else. Besides, she could sense no hostility in her presence.

"Fine." Avoiding the dining room, Killua lead them to one of the main corridors. At one point the hood nearly slipped off her ears, but she quickly recovered by leaning down. Without bothering to offer any refreshments, they opted to get straight to business. "What do you want?"

"Let me introduce myself first since you've been fair." She bowed from the wooden chair. "My name is Palm, just a lowly lord's daughter and I have been searching for my husband."

Killua snorted. "Can't help you there."

Palm let out a dainty laugh. "Oh, no. You don't understand. I am already married; to a fine man I dearly love. We pledged our life together merely a year ago and made love under the cherry blossoms many times, promising a future of loyalty. Yes, it was a wonderful three months."

Under the minimal light, Killua crossed her arms. This was going to be a long story.

"However, one night, he lost his job as a police official because he was caught robbing horses from one of the orphanages. We couldn't hope to afford our lodge without his income, so I begged him to either find another job or move out. He didn't and…" At this, the black-haired woman sniffled. Killua offered a tissue and she gladly accepted. "I couldn't take it and yelled. He laid his hands on me without permission. I tried to file a violation report against him. He almost ended up in jail. But he told officials that he only married me as an undercover mission and that _I_ was the one who was the robber. I was devastated."

Killua nodded, still bored. Of course, sob stories were only told when people wanted one thing. "Listen; do you want me to vouch your innocence? I can do that, but I'm not exactly in the best position to do so."

"You're so kind. Don't worry about that. His aunt revealed the truth to the world, that he's been an addict to horrid blue mushroom for many years and was lying. They were about to arrest him but he escaped. Oh mighty help us, he's turned into a womanizer since escaping. I…" She lowered her head, trying to shake the tears away. "I've been trying to find him. He's had a habit of making woman fall for him across the land before fleeing just as I get close."

Killua stood up. _What does she want me to do about it?_ She was getting a bit sick of the story, and was about to walk away, but the woman rested one hand against her shoulder. They stopped. A bird outside chirped. She had a dreading feeling about this.

"Have you…" she sobbed. "Have you seen this man at all?"

Palm took out a wanted poster. Folded many times and stuffed into a rucksack, the top left corner was burnt, but there was no mistaking those light brown eyes and seemingly innocent smile.

Near the bottom, '_GON FREECSS_' was written in dark bold letters.

-H-H-H-H-H-H-

The streamline arched sideways. Rocks piled to support several half-crumbled platforms. Most thought it to be a worn out little thing at first sight. But what lay beneath the dysfunctional impression was captivating. The aforementioned platforms were arranged into crooked steps, altitude rising higher and higher until reaching the height of a three story house. They came together as a rock land on the edge of town, a place where children frequented to play games of warrior and chase. Teetering on seven o'clock in the morning, the playground was abandoned, with the exception of one cloaked figure ascending up the tower with a clumsy fashion.

Killua leapt as high as she could to reach the next closest step. Jagged nails latched and she easily pulled herself up. On the way, her foot purposely kicked aside a mid-size boulder. She watched in some achievement as it rammed down the hill and careened into a nearby tree. The trunk shook, but didn't fall. She scowled.

The next boulder was of much bigger size. She tried to imagine Gon's face embedded in the cracks before flinging it down the cliff. It broke in two. The sound boomed to the reaches the sky. A perfect shot. But instead of that sickening satisfaction, Killua felt sick. Her arms were still shaking, brows covered in sweat, and mind eventually absent. Before she could control them, her thoughts lurched violently in the exact direction she was trying to avoid.

_Why did that old hag ever have to come?_

_Why couldn't it have just been me? Not my friends, nor the kingdom…_

_What am I supposed to do now?_

_Why did he leave?_ No, that was a stupid question.

_Why was I stupid enough to believe he wouldn't?_ Yeah. That sounded more like it.

Killua wasn't sure what fueled her limbs to run outside, away from the palace, as far from those wooden doors as possible, but she needed to be alone. She needed time to think, and exerting her body to its limits always provided a healthy distraction. In the past, she accomplished what most people her age couldn't. Her powerful hind legs were so great that she could practically skip from one platform to the other. It was different this time. Only two steps away from the top, and she finally noticed something that bugged more than encouraged her.

Despite everything, her fingers continued to shrink, thin into ten pale sticks that hugged her knuckles rather than explode off of them. Her body narrowed. It was easily a head shorter than it was since yesterday. The robe began to slack off her shoulders where fur shed into an embarrassing path at her ankles. Super human muscle near her bicep mellowed. As she climbed higher, it became increasingly more difficult to keep going. The distance between the next step and the one she stood on was the largest in the playground. It was the kind that she'd need her full effort to make across. But as her toes touched the gap, Killua realized how much smaller she had gotten.

"What the hell?" It didn't make sense, that the spell would continue wearing away even after Gon left her to rot. She felt empty. It was pitiful. And as she prepared herself to dive into a halfhearted jump, one she knew her new body would not make, an anguished smile broke through.

It must've been funny. That she felt so strongly, hopeful, about him that the curse was still lifting.

Sure enough, her skinny arms fell short. She dropped. Eyes half open. She didn't panic, felt the wind rushing through her elf ears, and relaxed against the calm before the storm. It was not a fall that would kill her, but it would certainly hurt.

Just where she predicted her body to hit the cement, back met cold steel. It felt more like a cold slap than anything. There was the whiny of a horse. Killua looked up. Someone had caught her. Through the stitching of cloth that covered her face, dirty blond and uptight blue eyes smirked. They radiated a presence that was the exact opposite to Gon's.

"Why, hello there, fair maiden." Killua elbowed him in the gut, he choked, and she jumped off his lap right away. She didn't _like _being carried like that. Definitely not by strangers. But when she regarded him again with no intention of thanking him for saving her, she paused. This person was not a stranger at all.

Voice grew cold, "you killed Canary."

"Hm? What are you talking about, young lady? I have not murdered a human in my life." Pariston mimicked thinking deeply. He snapped his fingers. A sigh emerged. "Although I have seen many harsh killings in front of me while I remained powerless."

_Who goes around saying that?_ "You make a fair living, lying to people's faces?"

The playing smirk wore off. A look of experience that Killua didn't like replaced it. "I suppose you wouldn't know. But you can't tell if the other was simply lying to you as well."

That was it. Killua looked down. "Whatever."

By now it was nearing breakfast. In the background, they could hear the distinct sounds of children sneaking away from their strict mothers to play near the tower. Between piano lessons and literature, this was the only hour they all had free.

Killua made to leave. Something about this man unnerved her. A loud growl stopped her in her tracks. She thought it was her stomach at first. But next thing she knew, a little girl screamed.

A fanged creature, three hooves with a tail sharper than a razor stood erect. It was not a baby. Full, female, and enraged that a passing rock thrown by one of the children had hit her nest only a yard away. Guards guarding the border were long dead. The girl whose expensive dress was caught in between its jaws whimpered. She was thrown to the floor; creature ready to lunge while half the others either ran away or stayed. Futile attempts of trying to save her by throwing sticks at the abnormality.

Killua was about to jump in but a sprain on her ankle slowed her down. It was too late. The creature was over the little girl. A sickening 'crack' sounded. It had taken a wet bite out of her body.

Everyone except Killua screamed. The scream died in the air like smoke. The girl was unharmed. Like a knight in shining armor, Pariston covered them. But just as quickly, they screamed again. Blood flew, teeth clenched, his entire right arm had been eaten off.

It wasn't one-sided. At that crucial moment where they made contact, Pariston had stabbed the mother's eye with his sword. The monster screeched. She fled, blind sighted. Other men of the village faked chasing after her. Meanwhile Children and mothers cried. Their tears mixed with red when they ran to hug Pariston's now crippled body. Killua watched.

"M-Mister, are you alright?" It was a little boy, the one who tried to fend the monster off. The next stick he was planning to launch was snapped in two.

"You can't be feeling well. With that handsome face, we have to look at that right away!" A woman this time. Her hair stacked in curls.

"Let me tend to this fine young man. For such a valiant effort it's free of charge."

"Don't be silly. I'll be the one to patch the wound."

"Why I never in my life-"

"I-I'M SORRY!" Everyone silenced. They turned to the girl. She was filthy but safe. Her pigtails hung, one nearly fallen off. Killua offhandedly noted how no one bothered to point out that through the commotion, Pariston's bleeding shoulder remained untended.

"Everything was m-my fault. I was the one who angered the monster. I was the one who couldn't fend for myself. A-And I was…" She started out strong but began to cry. "I was the one…"

Pariston patted her head. "Shh. It's not your fault. You said it yourself. It's no one's fault but that monster."

Killua flinched. _Wasn't she just protecting her babies?_

A boy chimed. "But you sure showed it! I bet that thing is running around blind now."

"That was so cool! I want to be like you when I grow up!"

…_A murderer, he means? _Her vision jerked.

"That's the spirit. Let's not spend our lives on self-hate." Pariston smiled. He hugged the small girl with his one good left arm. "We should be cursing all the beasts out there. Mindless while we, a much higher species than they'll ever be, are left to suffer."

She looked away. Everything made sense now.

"All of them deserve nothing less than a miserable death."

Not five minutes later, the crowd dispersed. Pariston was in a hurry somewhere but Killua didn't notice. They left her alone. From the deserted streets, she decided to follow the stream. As she climbed higher, the ground around arched. Soon railings formed. A cliff overlooked the body of water. And Killua was left staring at a cloudless sky in some part of town she'd never been to before.

In the gold-laced pockets of her diamond dress, she pulled out a glass bottle.

The contents shimmered in the sun's rays. Silver in color, she stared at the inscription 'Phoenix Blood' on the side of the lid. It was a gift for Gon. One she spent all day yesterday looking for in thrift shops. Finally she had found the treasure being sold at an auction. Biddings ran to ridiculous numbers but her one bar of gold won out. She returned. Missing until the late hours of the night.

They were supposed to eat together, perhaps play a game, before she handed it to him. He would be delighted, which was about the time the curse would wear away, Leorio and Kurapika would be saved, and all would end well. It would be a happily ever after. Gon never would have left. He wouldn't have just been using her this whole time.

She uncapped the concoction. It swirled twice. Blue eyes stared bored at the way it sizzled with every movement. What did Kurapika say again? If nothing else, Killua held pride in having a memory nearly as adept as the scholar. Oh, right. It was lethal to anyone inhuman to drink. How convenient.

Killua tilted her head up. The opening of the bottle hovered near her lips.

"Hehe, now there. Are you sure you want to do that?"

Head whirled around. Black fog ate at the air. Everything went silent. She adopted a case of déjà vu. It was all too familiar. Sure enough, the figure of an old woman, nose as large as an eggplant and long grey hair framed by dark robe appeared. Her rotted teeth grinned, pebbles magically thrown aside when she made her way to the princess.

Killua looked away. "If you're here to convince me not to do it, then give up, old hag."

"Oh, you're direly mistaken. I'm not here to convince you of anything."

"Then hurry up. I…" She rested her chin on an open hand. "I don't have time for this."

Bisuke hummed. "I'll make it quick then. I'm afraid you're being troublesome if you want to take your life a mere week before my spell does. But it seems it no longer wants to do that, counting by how much you've shrunk since I last saw you."

"I don't care. So you want to decide when I die for me?"

It seemed the least appropriate moment to do so. But suddenly, the woman began to sing. It was a sound Killua hated; the voice she heard that started it all. "You will be turned into a beast. The citizens who once worshipped will now call you a monster."

"What the…?" She wanted it to go away. "Stop reciting the curse. I already know it, granny."

"Unbeknownst to them, a horrifying epidemic will befall those of the richer sector of the kingdom."

"They'd rather die from sickness than be killed by a monster. At least it won't be as mindless and ugly."

She continued ignoring her remarks. "You will live this way and grow uglier by the day until the last petal falls from the blue rose. That's when you'll die in a peaceful sleep. Unless someone falls in love with you before then. If that happens, the whole kingdom will be saved."

When the chanting died down, the black fog cleared. A silence led by suffocating tension followed. At least, to Killua it was. Bisuke still had on as much of that annoying smile as she did when they first met. It was aggravating. She blurted. "What was the point of that?"

"Do I need to repeat myself? The curse I built is a powerful one. I designed it to have no loopholes. It will only fade if someone falls in love _with you_, not the other way around. Your feelings don't matter, my princess."

Killua went mute. The bottle hung loose in her grip. A frog croaked. Crickets joined in. Then, everything came crashing down at once.

"Gon…"

"Did you say you don't have time for this, Killua? I've been lying for many years, and I can sense another liar when I see it. Do you know the spell of limb detachment performed by the string-users of the North? It's quite impressive." With that, Bisuke lifted a scrawny hand. Plagued with liver spots, the wrinkles were the least of Killua's shock when her arm snapped right off. Blood came spurting out. Just as quickly, the witch took out a needle and thread, reattaching it in the blink of an eye.

When Bisuke looked up from her trick, the spot where Killua once stood was empty.

She smiled. "Do your best."

-H-H-H-H-H-H-

In the world where four kingdoms ruled, both warriors who depended on physical strength to meet their ends and sorcerers who pledged their lives to the mighty were born. Many fighting styles were developed. But out of all disciplines, specialty magic was known as the strongest form possible for man. While lesser arts merely broke the wall between human capabilities, this one defied universal possibility. Only a select few in history were gifted with this magic. And all users became well known, either for the blessings or carnage they left in their wake.

Any creature within the class of living dead were regarded as the evil which normal magic could not contain. Their auras were too dynamic. They had to be to come back to life, after all. Any hero facing a zombie, skeleton, spirit, or ghost was forced to slay them with sword while those chosen could use specialty magic. It was a colossal advantage Kurapika and Leorio found themselves possessing one day when their princess met with a magic user, one who yielded a black machine called a gun and possessed spells stronger than her own.

Luckily other than Bisuke, they had yet to face a specialty user. The topic never came up. Priests so powerful were too busy with much more pressing issues than finding the missing princess of Dentora. So when Kurapika and Leorio woke, empty canteen and nothing but a scrawny woman, weaponless, standing in their way, no doubt a magic user, they were overconfident. Convinced that she had done something to Killua, Leorio lunged first.

They recoiled when the woman's hair twisted and curled, influenced by magic neither knew. Leorio was quickly restrained in her mane, with Kurapika following a quick second after. She mumbled something about it being fortuitous that the beast's servants were actually Draugr's. Draugr's were the rarest form of living dead in existence, notorious for fetching a hefty price in auctions. They would make good treasures and no one would believe their cries at her foul play.

Palm was halfway in carrying the two into her carriage when footsteps sounded behind her. It was not one person but an army of around thirty. She turned. "Oh, it's you." A finger pointed to the crescent shaped crystal around her neck. "Why must I continue to wear this tacky necklace?"

Pariston beamed at the sight of her. His followers of powerful warriors gaped at her beauty. "Why, it's a charm of immunity. We don't want you being poisoned, dear ma'am."

"What are you talking about?"

"I did some research with the intelligent wizard. Contrary to what Mito-chan thought, it was the blue roses which poisoned her, not the green one. The green rose simply represents the life force of the one who currently holds it."

Palm took this in, finally understanding why Mito had recovered after all. She had, at the most, spent only a half hour in the presence of such horrid flowers. Air borne poison usually took longer to deteriorate your lungs. Those immoral such as the Draugr's and beast were unaffected. "I see. And I trust your end worked well?"

"Why yes, beautiful Palm. The princess of Dentora is dead."

"You're lying!" Leorio spat while Kurapika scoffed. The chef tried throwing a kick from the ropes that bonded him. Palm flicked her hand into an arrow and he grew weak.

"Stop your dumb resistance. Your princess is gone." Palm stepped to her carriage, satisfied. "So you managed to kill that disgusting whore?"

"No," he grinned. "Something better. Don't worry because the results are the same. Now, about our deal…"

The black-haired beauty ignored his beaming advance. Instead, she focused her stares at the garden around her. "And where did you keep Gon?"

"That's the best part!" Pariston cheered. He was ecstatic to show off his work. From a little ways across a patch of dirt and tombstones, he led them to that familiar shed by the graveyard which seemingly sat undisturbed. Kurapika cursed. Somehow the one place they hadn't checked for Gon last night was where he was. It was a claustrophobic space where even the bravest would grow uncomfortable in seconds. Leorio looked away.

"Voila." The blond man turned the knob. He stepped aside.

Palm screamed.

"K-Killua…" Leorio sputtered.

A few feet away, they heard a crash. Everyone save Palm turned to a frozen Killua. The girl had been eavesdropping on them the entire time. Hidden behind a tall flower pot. It now lay in pieces on the grass.

A snarl. Pained breathing. Pariston was against the wall.

Palm had him at the line of fire. Dark hair restrained his muscles, one strand honed into a sharp blade aimed right over his heart. She screeched in his face. She wanted to break his eardrums. And through her cries, a tear fell. She seethed, "what **did YOU DO TO HIM?!**"

"What did I do to him?" He laughed. "You told me to capture and chain him somewhere. The boy was already half dead from all the blue rose pollen he's been breathing in the past few weeks. So I just sped the process. Call it a few needle injections of their essence, if you will."

"Why…you…" The viper tightened. Pariston's face paled. His lungs were being crushed.

"Ha, are you going to kill me now?" He cackled, choked, did everything a man possibly could in his spot. "Don't forget your end of the deal, beautiful. You said we would marry if I cooperated and put the bug in the castle in the first place."

Palm spat. "I _never_ planned to keep it, fool. The man I love, you killed."

"The man you love…? I see."

At that, two more black blades formed, one pointed at his throat and the other near his abdomen. "Any last words?"

"Why, yes." The blond smirked. He watched as the weaves of hair plunged. It only took over a second. But it was enough to take in his last breath with the most painful words imaginable.

"_The man you love was only captured on the promise that Killua would be safe."_

Palm threw the wet bloody body aside. Her teeth gritted, face twisted. She wanted to grind the dead man against a fire pit filled with piranhas. Record his organs bursting under a one thousand pound pin for the world to see. Leave his disgusting rotted and scathed legs for the leeches of the lowest upbringing. Everyone would laugh. But it wouldn't bring Gon back.

Her eyes, matching the fury of a demon, pivoted to the thirty men beside her. They were all frozen in fear. Their great leader had been massacred.

She pointed at them. "Set fire to this wretched castle."

The man in front flinched. "What? We can't just do tha-" A lance of hair drove through his stomach.

Palm watched him fall to the floor. The others moved back. "I'm sick of this kingdom existing. All it brings is suffering; all it does is get in my way. From the betrayals and mutinies my mother was forced to deal with, to its disgusting laws which hurt our people," she crushed a tree, "even right down to that _whore_ of a princess taking what doesn't belong to her. They _all_ need to perish."

None doubted the girl was on the brink of insanity.

"I, Palm, the princess of Azian, declare the untarnished death penalty to this kingdom!"

-H-H-H-H-H-H-

The smell of ash reached the kitchen in under a minute. Flames shot through the roof, staining appliances a bright orange as sparks bounced through the air. There were still a few minutes left until the room would burst in smoke. A few minutes until orientation was lost, one couldn't see the hand in front of their face, suffocation following soon after.

This all remained ignored by the princess of Dentora. Killua boiled the closest pot at full heat, practically throwing the whole bottle in. Streaks of silver bubbled. Shards of glass mixed and melted. Sweat coursed off her body. It was getting unbearably hot, but she stayed put.

While she waited, she moved. Killua dared to lift three fingers and stroke the side of Gon's face, moving from his cheek to ear. His skin felt toned. A faint heartbeat came through his neck. It sounded incredible under her tired hands. She averted her eyes back up. He had a peaceful look about him, almost like he had a feeling he was going to die long before they ever met.

"I'm sorry."

She watched as he turned a sickly blue. As the steady rise and fall of his chest diminished. And the green rose in his pockets died away with him, only three petals remaining.

"I'm sorry."

As if hypnotized to lean down, she repeated it, again and again.

When steam rose from the stove, Killua jolted out of her stupor. She lifted the burning pot with her bare hands, ignoring the sting in favor for shoving the whole bowl to Gon's mouth. Trails of silver ran off the side of his jaw and to the floor. The pot fell. It smashed into pieces. _Please, please…please work._

…

Eyes opened after being shut tight. Killua looked. A slit of honey brown met her halfway.

"G-Gon…!"

But something was wrong. The purple-hue continued to grow on his cheeks. He stared back, pupils hazy, and through them she could see the light moving out. The dull quake of tired lids struggling to keep them open. His heartbeat was nearly gone.

"…K-illua."

"I'm sorry." She blurted. It was all she could say. "Everything."

"It's okay."

They stared at each other. One hand lifted to play with the other's fingers. It was a blissful moment. And it was then, in the midst of falling back in darkness, he let out the happiest grin. "Hehe…illua…"

She leaned closer.

"_You…eally beautiful."_

Her eyes widened. He dropped.

Body cold, unconscious, gone, she screamed at it.

"N-No, no…NO! Y-You moron, don't go back to sleep! Come o-on!" She felt it, wet. On her cheeks. Nothingness, on his neck. They hurt, it stained. Smoke choked her. "You don't understand, Gon. I don't care if you only have to love me for the curse to break. I-If…"

"If the whole kingdom is saved but you die_, __**I WON'T FORGIVE YOU!**_"

A clang sounded. Killua didn't look up, didn't notice, that Palm had somehow wandered into the kitchen and lunged at her with sharpened hair. She wouldn't be satisfied unless the princess died by her own hands. Kurapika appeared from thin air. Tears threatened to spill off his face when he blocked the attack. Bokken swords chipped. Leorio materialized as well but was motioned to tend to the Dentora princess. They had escaped from their binds when Palm was distracted by Pariston.

Kurapika was forced to redirect her attack to the island. The counter smashed into portions while some hurled to the far window. The wood fed the flames creeping near the walls. He dodged her binding spell by an inch, hopped to the ceiling, and hung from a chandelier. Meanwhile, Leorio crouched. He wanted to comfort Killua so badly. "Ki-"

"Leorio." Ugly tears, "hand me your knife."

He complied, but reacted in shock when Killua motioned to cut her own eye with it. "What are you doing?!"

"Let go."

"Oh no, I'm not going to let you gouge your own eye out!"

"What else am I supposed to do?! It's the only thing that'll save Gon!"

"Killua, he's already…" He cringed. Hiding the brown wilted rose beneath his arm, away from sight, he didn't want to say it. "He's…Look; Gon wouldn't want you to do that."

She looked down. Then back up, about to retort when suddenly, a whip of black shot in front of her. It burned through the air like lava, and when Killua collected her surroundings through the thick smoke, she could see Leorio unconscious on the floor. On the other side of the room, Kurapika was mounted against a wall. A broken cabinet had impaled itself right into his legs. He had fainted from the blood lost. Steps approached her.

Palm smiled. "You're the only one left, my fellow highness."

Killua brought Gon's body closer. She stared at Palm, face blank.

The towering woman stepped back. "Actually, no. First I want to ask some questions."

She observed the tattered brown cloak. Though the curtains of the hood which hid Killua's face, snow white hair fell in fluffy layers. A scrubby chin with receding fur showed. The rest couldn't be seen. The raven-hair narrowed her eyes. "How did you fool Gon into choosing a monster over me?"

Killua didn't answer. Palm continued.

"I mean. Who ever heard of the brave, handsome hero falling for a beast? Not even the grayest and oldest of men would stoop that low. The funny thing is you feel the same! I don't blame you. Being a monster really leads to desperation." Fire burst from behind Palm's silhouette. Some of it sneaking dangerously close to Leorio's body. It blew her hair forward. She cackled. "But, would anyone with a conscious drag someone as untainted as Gon down for their own foolishness-?"

"You don't actually love him, do you?"

Palm recoiled. Her head snapped down in shock. She sputtered. "What a-are you talking about, monster?"

"Sorry to hear that all you have going for you is your looks, princess. It's not my problem." Killua caressed a hand down Gon's side, bringing him to her lap. "But don't degrade Gon into someone who only wants a life partner with a pretty face. That's your excuse. You don't love him."

Rage, it hit her body like a hurricane. Killua found herself on the receiving end of a binding spell which paralyzed her arms and legs. A sudden multitude of blindly thrown blows hit. She used the last of her energy to jump on top of Gon to protect him. One upper cut against her neck, a kick to the gut, and several clashes to her legs. None of the hits touched the still carcass in her arms. For that, Killua refused to give in.

"Why…"

Punch, "won't you…"

Slap, "let go of him already!"

Pain. Killua wanted nothing more than for the body beneath her to breathe, tell her that everything was going to be alright, smile that same smile again. A flame touched her ankles. She threw up blood. None of it happened. She held tighter.

Palm originally didn't want to kill her until Gon was in her own hands, not in that ugly beast's. It just wouldn't be as satisfying without that look of hopelessness on that whore's face. She seethed, this wasn't going to work. They were running out of time. The hits stopped for a pitying ten seconds. It was agonizing yet puzzling. _Did she give up?_

Killua looked up and paled.

Up above, the entire left side of Palm's black tresses morphed into a drill. During that deceitful break from the lashes she had chanted a spell to refill the magic in her deflating hair. Now it was at full power. Palm smirked. "Fine. I'll kill you then ripe my love away from your dead arms!"

The drill lunged back, prepared to make the kill.

Killua buried her face in Gon's shoulder, awaiting the pain.

In her head, she heard herself choke those three words.

_I love you too, Gon._

What a fitting end.

Silence.

Then, "Ow ow ow, ow ow!"

Blue eyes left their home in the bend of Gon's neck. They bounced from either side of the room, eventually adjusting to the backdrop. Killua took in a third figure in the room. Disbelief shook her core.

"My, you've made quite a mess here without my permission, haven't you?"

A white gloved hand pulled the raven hair princess's ear back in an almost irregular angle. Palm hollered. Tears formed on the edge of her eyelids from the pain. But the taller woman didn't let up. With shiny blond hair and eyes the color of pink allium, it was that full pink gown that instantly gave her away.

"It's you…" Killua racked her brain for the name. "Bisuke?"

Now Palm looked nothing more than a toddler. "M-M-MOTHER?! Let go th-this instant!" Killua nearly shrieked. She thankfully managed to hold on to the embarrassing girly action. But something more prominent took her attention. That horrible witch, the sorcerer who cursed their kingdom, Bisuke, was none other than the Queen of Azian herself.

"I think not. I've told your cowardly lackeys to start putting out the fire too."

"What?! I was so close, mother! Why did you stop me?" Palm reached into her bag. In it held specialty magic. Only skilled priests chosen by the mighty could use it without a supplement. Palm was not one of them. "I will use this to get away from you if I have to!"

"I'm not sure you want to do that, spoiled girl. Specialty Magic expands universal possibility, not the rules of equivalent exchange." At this Bisuke bowed, her daughter gaped. The once blooming gold hair was now grey. Winkles peeled, arms grew lanky. They realized that this whole time, she had been using magic to make herself look younger. The Queen's youthful face was a generation older since Killua saw her a year ago. Upholding a curse over a kingdom took its toll. Bisuke giggled. "What you've done here today quite possibly aged you about 7 years."

Killua rolled her eyes when Palm screamed a tone that could shatter windows and fainted on the spot. Thank heavens she never turned out like that. She could finally let out the breath she had been holding.

The fading scent of Gon reached her senses. Thoughts crashing back down to her, she hurried to her knees. She scrambled to sit up, the binds held her down. She ended up in an embarrassing hunched position. She didn't care.

"B-Bisuke! Gon…please…!"

"Shhh." Bisuke crouched. One hand petted Killua's head. It was warm against her skull. A dull numbness seized every bruise that littered her aching body. It relieved everything but at the same time overwhelmed her.

"That's enough, princess. Sleep…" Bisuke sang. Killua wanted to yell back. To fight the commanding drowsiness, the urge to succumb to the flaky darkness. But it was too strong. Like a mouse pushing against an oncoming train, her eyes fell victim to the peaceful rest. As Killua slipped from Bisuke's hold, her hood fell off, revealing the once beautiful princess she was before.

Bisuke stood up, sighing. Her limbs felt exhausted. Running after her daughter was no easy task. She snapped her fingers, the ruthless flames extinguished to ash. Through the dispersing smoke, her bright pink eyes scanned the fading bodies of the chef and mistress. The blue roses in the garden were slowly dying off. Pink orbs followed squirrels as they returned to the palace gates once more, as if waking up from some year old hypnotization. All was returning to normal. Then, as they ended on the corpse of Gon Freecss, she shook her head.

"Tsk, that just won't do."

Specialty magic was a form of magic that could be taken as both a blessing and curse. Those who are gifted would naturally burst in light when they're born. Parents cried when they saw such an image. It was a sign their child could do great things. But almost always it also meant their baby would die at an early age.

It wasn't for the reason most thought. At the very last level of training, as the group of students gathered in the church under their dying master, they learned the most advanced spell any living being could perform. It wasn't the entire world's riches or eternal life, strength that would give you the power to defeat the warlords. It neither involved finding the love of your life nor happiness.

It was the spell to bring the dead back to life, at the cost of your own.

As Bisuke encased herself in her own magic, watched the life suck out of her, no one could fathom what she was thinking at that moment. It was hard to willingly die when you didn't want to. But as stories of the Queen who was one of the greatest sorcerers in the world spread, times changed. That title soon dwindled and, in its place, she became the sorcerer who was one of the greatest Queens in history.

And, funny enough, she whispered:

"Killua Zoldyck, princess of Dentora. You've really grown. You'll make a fine ruler."

-H-H-H-H-H-H-

"Why don't you just try the dress on, your Highness?"

"How many times do I have to tell you? Just call me Killua!"

It was something they had gone over multiple times. As the princess sat in the study, her wheel-chaired tutor resisted the urge to groan. Once more, Kurapika was given the responsibility to convince her to do the impossible. Books scattered the desk. This time hand-written notes on changes in Dentora's Politics littered the page over essays on monarchy. When Killua wasn't fooling around, she was a really hard worker.

"I promise you," the crippled man pointed to the gown. A light purple and aquamarine with silver decorating its sleeves. Ribbons hung off. "It's not as incommodious as the last one. Don't you think it's worth wearing it just once to your crowning ceremony? You will be named as the ruler; that only happens once."

"Why can't I just go like this?" Killua was in a simple blue summer dress, a lavender blouse underneath. She wouldn't budge. The blond stared at the ceiling. He had to play his wild card.

"I heard," he said innocently, "that the prince of Azian is going to be here."

Killua grabbed the outfit and ran to the change room.

The following morning brought stress and excitement to everyone at the now filled castle. Leorio had to take the initiative to wander into the rotting districts of their country and hire new staff. One of their new recruits, a man named Gotoh, was arranging the flowers. Maids haphazardly finished cooking the meals for over a thousand guests to arrive, as well as snacks to hand out to the passerby's crowding shamelessly in front of the gates.

The beginning of the ceremony started flawlessly. Killua arrived on time, in the aquamarine dress that had every man gawking. Her mid-back hair was tied in a light blue ribbon, backdrops making her stand out more. The crowning itself was a speech performed by Kurapika and Leorio since the rest of the Zoldyck family was gone. She stood on a pedestal with an extravagant crown on her head for hours, greeting their visitors one by one.

It was insanely and without question, boring. The gold pushing into her temples gave a headache. But when she was reminded of spikey black hair and brown eyes, the fact that she would be able to see _him_ again, an anticipation that made her knees shake and face shy away easily overcame her. Her eyes scanned aimlessly through the crowd in the first half, scrutinizing every guest for that familiar boy. Then, when evening hit and it came time for the dinner party, she walked around every hallway, hoping to catch a glimpse of him.

The new ruler passed Gotoh near the dining table. He was supposed to relax but insisted on serving drinks to everyone. At the front was their newly hired clown, a man with red wavy hair and Killua had no doubts visited children's nightmares at night. She passed Hanzo, a ninja and the head soldier, about five times doing tricks. But, there was no sign of Gon anywhere.

Night hit. Guests prepared to leave.

Killua stood on the balcony, blank look on her face. Stars glimmered above the dark garden, not a single rose in sight. She felt like that time five months ago when Gon didn't show up to their first dinner together. Just like then, she felt depressed. Was the curse lying the whole time? Did he just lose interest in her since the five months they've seen each other? _That must be it._

Suddenly, two hands covered her eyes.

"Guess who?" Killua's heart skipped a beat.

She twirled and gave Gon a healthy punch on his shoulder. "Where were you?"

"I'm sorry," Gon held his now bruised arm with a frown. "I was there to watch your crowning ceremony but when it came time for us to meet, a Fox Bear attacked our horse. He wouldn't leave me alone until I helped him find his mother. It took a while. I'm sorry, Killua." He apologized again.

"That's dumb…" she trailed, "but valid and something you'd do, I guess."

The prince of Azian grinned sheepishly at the cold girl. He was delighted to know Killua hadn't changed at all. Under the moonlight, her hair somehow emitted an ethereal glow. But those blue eyes and annoyed pout were what he missed the most. He stepped closer. "It's been a long time."

"I-It has." Killua tried to change the topic. "How's the country going?"

Gon scratched his head. "Bisuke's most trusted assistant is leading right now, her name is Cookie."

Azian was in a mess when news of the Queen's death had spread. The king had passed on ages ago. They needed a new ruler. Just when Palm returned home to claim the crown, one of the officials pointed out they needed to carry out the Queen's will first. The document seemed normal at first; the head soldier would remain as some of her personal riches would be donated to their people. Then, they reached the bottom. To the shock of the nation, the Queen had scribbled on a single sentence at the end just before she left for Dentora.

It stated that her position was to go completely and without question to Gon Freeccs once he passed their four year study. Hence, he was given the title as the new prince while Palm was sent to a boarding school. Those who didn't know him were skeptical at first, but quickly grew to love him just as much as the animals around did.

"And your Aunt?" Killua breathed out; neither noticed that they were now pressed against each other on the railing. It felt warm. Sounds of the last guests leaving on the floor below them were ignored.

"She passed away in her sleep, a month ago." For a second, a look of mourn passed over his eyes. Killua held the sides of his face. Her thumb caressed the skin. Immediately, the sad look went away. "Mito-san told me to tell you sorry."

"What about you?" Gon looked straight into her eyes when she asked. Their lips were an inch away from each other. Killua was about to lean forward to close the gap but Gon stepped back.

"Gon?" She looked hurt.

"Uhm…Killua." He glanced at his boots. Dark red spread across his cheeks, a shaking arm scratched the back of his head, and he looked half ready to faint. She raised an eyebrow. Since when was Gon nervous?

"I'm not sure how to say this."

Killua wanted to berate him for not getting to the point. But when she saw the look on his face, saw those large eyes that spilled his soul to her, she stepped forward. Then gasped.

Though the rising moon and excess light spilling in from the hall behind them, a shining blue sapphire ring stared back at her.

-H-H-H-Beauty and the Beast End-H-H-H-

**Thanks for taking the time to read my story! Phew, hope it wasn't too long. **

**I have to say though; female Killua is a lot harder to write than it looks.**


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